


one night and every morning after

by ofsinnersandsaints



Category: Charmed (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon Divergent, F/M, Hacy, but the entire time macy and harry have fucked, first fic in the new fandom!, just imagine the entire first season, lots of sexy times!, this is like that but with whitelighters and witchers, you know the trope 'i had a one night stand and the next morning found out they were my boss'
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:27:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23912299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ofsinnersandsaints/pseuds/ofsinnersandsaints
Summary: Macy goes to a bar downtown for one reason, and one reason only: to find someone to sleep with.Tomorrow she's going to become a witch, one of the Charmed Ones, and any chance of a relationship is going to go out the window. Also, she apparently might die at any moment, and she was not about to go to the other side without having experience at least one night of sex.So, she's off to pickup a one night stand and finds British gentleman reading a book and goes home with him.Twelve hours later, he's in her attic and introducing himself as her whitelighter.
Relationships: Harry Greenwood/Macy Vaughn
Comments: 81
Kudos: 263





	1. Chapter 1

Macy walked into the bar downtown knowing everything was going to change tomorrow when she and her brand-new sisters would accept their responsibility as the Charmed Ones.

She was still dizzy with how quickly everything had happened, how her quite, solitary life had changed so completely.

One minute she was an orphan and a scientist, and after a single phone call from her mother’s friend, she was suddenly a sister and a witch. Two things she never thought she’d be.

Charity had explained what it all meant, and how it was a choice they’d have to make together. It had taken a minute for Macy to be convinced, but when she’d learned that by saying no she’d never get a chance to know her sisters the decision hadn’t been that hard.

But it had been for Mel, who was all set to change the world, make it better, take back the power – until she’d learned there would be sacrifices. It was possible for witches to have relationships, to live and long and happy lives with those they loved, but it was next to impossible with a Charmed.

Mel had argued, and Macy had understood why because her sister had a girlfriend whom she loved, but the Elder had patiently explained that being in a relationship with a Charmed One was a quick way to a painful death.

Anyone they were with could be used as pawns, a weak point to pull and manipulate them and they could never allow themselves to be manipulated.

Who they were, what they’d do, it was all too dangerous to involve people who couldn’t protect themselves against magic.

Doors had slammed, but in the end Mel had done what was right, even if it hurt.

Macy didn’t have to worry about ending a relationship because she’d never had one, but when she thought about what was coming there was a deep emptiness in her chest at all the things she’d missed out on. She didn’t was want to die – and she was beginning to think it was a very real possibility – without experiencing some of that.

Maybe she wouldn’t like sex, maybe the entire thing would be boring, but she wanted to know for herself. Which is why she’d dressed up to enjoy her last night of freedom.

A deep red dress and matching lips, she’d put on her kitten heels and go hunting.

Macy scrunched her nose as she took a seat at the bar. She didn’t like the idea of hunting, it sounded too violent and too predatory. Perusing, she decided as she eyed the people congregating in the trendy bar. She’d always liked shopping even if she’d hadn’t always had the money to splurge.

Before coming here she’d looked up advice on how to pick up people at a bar, but the suggestions were either incredibly corny, or verging on sexual harassment so in the end she’d ignored all the articles and figured she’d just go on instinct. She ordered a glass of wine when the bartender asked what she’d like to drink, and imagined this would all be easier if she felt sexual attraction.

She could see someone, get horny, and bam! The whole virginity thing – social construct or not – would be over. Instead she’d have to-

“Ma’am?”

Macy looked over to see a guy who was a handful of years older than her, but had a kind face and a phone in his hand. “Would you please make sure no one spits in my drink? I have to take a call outside.”

“What if I spit in your drink?” she asked, and was immediately startled by the fact she was flirting.

He laughed. “Then I deserve it for picking such an untrustworthy person to guard my fermented grapes.”

Macy grinned, “I’ll make sure no one defiles your drink.”

“Thank you.”

The man stepped outside and when Macy looked over to see where he’d been sitting she realized he had ordered the same drink she had. There was also a book sitting next to his glass and because she was nosy she couldn’t help but pick it up to read the summary.

It had interesting premise and because she had nothing else to do she flipped to the front of the book and started reading. It was less than five minutes later that the gentleman came back and laughed. “You’re reading my book?”

She held it up so he could see she had a finger between the pages. “Don’t worry, I saved your spot.”

“Am I going to get it back?” he teased, bringing the wine glass up to his lips.

Okay, that zing was definitely sexual. She shifted on her barstool and held the book out over the empty chair separating them. “Sci-fi, huh?” she asked to cover the fact she was just a tiny bit turned on by the mouth and the hand delicately holding the glass stem. He had really good hands.

He looked adorably guilty at being caught and explained, “I like fiction, but I can’t handle anything historical.” He paused and then added, “I can’t handle the inaccuracies.”

“I can’t handle most science fiction,” she rested her chin on her hand and gave him a smile. “I can’t handle the inaccuracies.”

His eyes went bright which Macy hadn’t expected. Most people were vaguely interested or outright bored with science. “You’re a scientist?”

Macy nodded, and felt a warmth in her chest, just behind her sternum and would love to have the chance to study it, write it all down to investigate it later. “I am. I’m a geneticist.”

She’d come out here for a reason, and she’d almost resigned herself to finding some horny post-grad student or lawyer, but wouldn’t it be nice to spend time with a slightly nerdy British man? Macy moved over to the empty seat between them. “Dr. Macy Vaughn.”

His grin was warm honey, and his hand felt steady when he shook hers. “Harry Greenwood.”

“Nice to meet you, Harry.”

He shifted a little so he was facing more towards her and Macy forcibly stopped herself from trying to remember everything she’d learned about body language from entertainment tv. If she started down that path, she’d overthink herself right out of this bar.

“What brings you out on a quiet Thursday evening?”

Macy made a calculated decision, and braced herself for a bad reaction. “I’m trying to get laid.”

He froze, wine glass halfway to his mouth. Harry carefully set it down on the bar. “I appreciate you not saying that while I was drinking.”

“It’s good wine, it would be a shame to waste it,” she quipped back, and hoped she sounded like she knew what she was doing. Confidence, fake it till you make it.

His smile suggested he hadn’t outright dismissed her. “Is there something in particular which brings you out tonight instead of tomorrow?”

“I’m starting a new job tomorrow,” she admitted, and maybe she shouldn’t play poker because as soon as she started kind of lying, she started fiddling with her glass. She picked up the wine and took a small drink. “It’s going to take up a lot of my time, so there’s not going to be a lot of opportunity going forward.”

“Now or never?”

Macy nodded. “Something like that.”

“Well then,” he braced his feet on the barstool’s foot rest and lifted himself off the seat to pull out his wallet. “I suppose now it is.”

She watched as he took out a twenty dollar bill and laid it on the bar between their drinks. “Oh.”

Harry’s head tilted a little as he looked at her. “Unless I misunderstood?”

“No,” she rushed to assure him. “I just didn’t think it would be this easy.”

His laughter was big and bright and made Macy smile in return. “I can play hard to get if that would make you feel more comfortable.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

Harry slid off his stool and held his hand out to Macy and after half a second of hesitation she accepted it and let the nice man lead her outside. “Wait.”

He stopped and Macy pulled out her phone and without giving him any warning she took a picture of him. “There, now it’s uploaded to the cloud, so if you kill me I want you to know you’re not going to get away with it.”

“Smart,” he nodded approvingly. “Your place or mine?”

She’d moved out of the Airbnd room this afternoon, so her place was a room at her sisters’ house. Her mother's old room. “Yours.”

“Good call,” he took three steps to the left and turned to a door tucked into the brick exterior.

Macy laughed. “You live above a bar?”

“It’s not a particularly loud bar,” he explained. “And there’s a lot of great places to eat nearby.”

“Good food is important,” she agreed and followed him up the stairs to a second floor which was split into two apartments. “Do you have a neighbor?”

“Yes, so if I do murder you someone will hear you scream,” he teased.

“Oh good.”

He let himself into his apartment and Macy follow him inside and was surprised at how empty it was. It was a single room with a nice couch and a big television, but no personal affects. There was only a box of books near the couch, and an open suitcase near the end of the bed proving anyone actually lived here.

“Did you just move?”

“A week ago,” he answered, hanging his keys on a hook by the door. “I’m starting a new job soon, but I don’t know how long it’ll last so I’m waiting to see how it goes before I get the rest of my things out of storage.”

Macy nodded but didn’t say anything, her gaze fixated on the bed.

She wasn't going to second guess herself – she’d made the decision, and she was going to go through with it – but she kind of wished she had any kind of relationship with her sisters so she could call them from the bathroom to tell them what she was doing.

“You didn’t get a chance to finish your wine downstairs, did you want a glass?”

Macy turned and saw he was watching her, and because she didn’t know what he could see she intentionally relaxed her face. “Yes, thank you.”

He walked into the kitchen area, separated only by a breakfast bar, and Macy followed as he reached into the fridge and took out a bottle of white wine and poured them each a glass. Harry held one out to her and she accepted it.

She took a drink as he moved to put the wine away, and something about the alcohol made her tongue a little loose. “I’ve never had sex before.”

He stopped and stared at her and Macy thanked the Gods – was she allowed to thank God now that she was a witch? – for the distance and the low lighting because hopefully it meant Harry wouldn't be able to see the blush she could feel warming her cheeks.

“Okay…”

“It just seemed like something you should know,” she said, the words coming out so quickly they nearly tripped over each other. “And I might be weird, so I thought you should have some context. For the weirdness.”

His smile was a little amused, and he walked towards her with an easy gait. She liked that he wasn’t a man in a hurry to get somewhere. She wondered where he got his calm from, it was like he had all the time in the world and no rush to get to where he was going.

As she took a drink of the cool wine, she wished she had some of that for her own.

“We don’t have to have sex, Macy.”

“No,” she put the glass down and rested her hands on his shoulders and realized for the first time they were matched in height. All she had to do to was lean forward just a little and she could kiss him. “I want to.”

Harry watched her for a second, his eyes dipping down briefly to her lips before returning his gaze to hers. “Why me?”

Macy wished she had a way to explain it, she could barely understand it herself. It was if she'd gone to that bar because she'd known he would be there, as she knew the right man was just sitting with a book waiting for her to show up. But she couldn't tell him that, he'd think she was drunk or out of her mind so she looked around the kitchen – or what little she could see past his shoulders – and saw the teapot on his stove. “You like tea?”

“I’m British,” he said by way of answer, his voice was dry enough it made her laugh.

“Have you ever come home from a stressful day and made a pot of tea and it was just the right thing in the right moment?”

“Yes.”

“You’re my cup of tea, Harry.”

“Well,” he shifted forward so he was nearly pressed against her, his hands resting on the counter so she was trapped. But she didn’t feel caged in, she felt protected. “How can a man be expected to say no to that?”

It was a dangerous thing to have affection for what would amount to a one night stand, but Macy could feel the emotion burrowing its way into her heart.

And then he kissed her and she knew she was lost.

It was just a press of lips, nothing particularly sexual, but his chest was pressed against her breasts and he surrounded her, and it took a moment for her to realize he was waiting for her to take the lead.

Macy could feel herself overthinking the moment, her mind racing about angle and tongue and if she'd be any good at it. Almost as if he could sense her nerve he ran his hands down her side and back up again, stroking her like a pet. Somehow, for some reason, it worked and she was able kiss him back.

She ran her hands down his arms and was surprised by the muscle she could feel hidden beneath the soft sweater. She shifted her head to change the angle, her hands following the lines of his arm, taking one of his hands and placing it low on her hip.

He easily followed her lead, his long fingers pressing into the curve of her ass, pulling her body closer to his until she felt the impression of his arousal against her pelvis.

It was if someone had flipped a switch inside her, the tiny spark in her veins turned into a full fledged wildfire. She slid her arms around him, “More.”

The hand on her ass slid up to her back, his other hand coming up to frame her cheek. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth to let him taste.

To taste him back.

His tongue slid along the inside of her mouth, a slow, languid thrust which was so erotic Macy clung to him just to keep from melting. Macy tentatively followed his tongue back to his mouth, sliding along his lips and tongue and the sound Harry made encouraged her until they were taking turns licking into one another.

“Christ, Macy.”

Harry’s voice was breathless, a little desperate, and while she’d never considered herself the kind of woman who brought a man to his knees in was nice to know she could.

“I want to touch you, Harry,” she whispered against his cheek as her fingers found the hem of his shirt. He let go of her just long enough to lift his arms so she could tug the sweater off and drop it on the counter behind her.

He moved to wrap his arms around her again but she stopped him with a hand on his chest because she wanted to get a good look at him. She was going to explain herself, but her focus was easily distracted by the smooth expanse of his torso. Macy ran her fingers along his chest, down his sternum, marveling at how warm he was. When she traced along his ribs he jerked beneath her hand, a quick sound coming out of his mouth.

Macy looked up at his face and saw an embarrassed smile at the corner of his mouth. “Ticklish,” he explained with self conscious chuckle. “Don’t tell anyone.”

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck so they were once again pressed up against each other. Macy was half a second from putting his hands back on her but he beat her to it, his hands covering her ass and squeezing possessively.

“I promise,” Macy began, her lips a breath’s distance away from his. “Your secret is safe with me.”

She could feel his smile against her lips, “My hero.”

He kissed her for what felt like hours, his hands briefly touching her curved over the layers of clothing, and while she loved kissing him she wanted more. Macy pulled back and turned in his arms, but that didn’t deter Harry in the least. He brushed her hair to the side and pressed his mouth to her neck, his tongue and teeth and lips learning her. Every time she'd gasp or moan he'd go back to the spot which had made her react as if he was carefully mapping every pleasure point.

“Harry,” she managed to get out. “My dress.”

There was a moment of silence and Macy chose to think he was getting his bearings, and then she felt the delicious slide of the zipper down her beck. The knuckles of his hand bumped along her spine, the feel of his skin on her was almost more than she could handle.

Macy could feel when his fingers hit her bra strap, hooking around it and tugging slightly. “May I?”

“Yes.”

Harry unhooked her bra and Macy had a quick moment of self doubt. Frustrated with herself she pulled her dress down to her hips and when she took off her bra she set it down on the counter before turning around.

He didn’t touch her, but the way he looked her was almost a physical thing. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

The curse coming from such a proper British man was a surprising turn on. “I’m not ticklish.”

Harry’s eyes went dark, “Duly noted.”

Macy held her breath, anticipation making her blood hot as he reached out to cup her breasts in his hands. His thumb brushed against her nipples, the hard buds tightening against the sensation. “Gorgeous,” he repeated, his gaze fixated on her breasts a second before he covered one of her nipples with his mouth. It was a hot, wet heat as his tongued teased her, his teeth a sharp contrast that had her moving against him.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured, his hand sliding down the curve of stomach to slip inside the silk of her underwear. She clung to his shoulders as his fingers found the slickness of her core, sliding against her with a wet friction she had used on herself in the past, but it was vastly different experience when it was someone else doing it. Her words were lost somewhere in her throat when he start licking and sucking on her other breast while his fingers teased her.

Macy didn’t know what to do with her hands, with her body, there was so much sensation she didn’t think her body could contain it anymore. She didn't want him to stop so she buried her fingers in his hair to keep him in place, but eventually his mouth made its way back up her sternum and neck until he could kiss her again.

This was not the proper, introductory kiss they’d started out with, or the sexy foreplay from before.

Instead, it was a dirty exchange of tongue and teeth and Macy was turned on she could have screamed when he pulled away to push her dress down to the ground. In what was possibly the most gentlemanly thing anyone had ever done for her, Harry picked up the dress and shook it out before laying it flat on the counter.

Her dresses wouldn’t have wrinkles when she put it on later.

“Come on, love.”

He took her hand and led her out of the kitchen and towards the bed and belatedly Macy realized she was still wearing her shoes and stopped long enough to kick them off. When they got to the bed Macy turned to kiss him again but he backed her up until her knees hit the bed.

“Lay down.”

Macy raised her brows, “Bossy.”

His grin was quick and charming and hit Macy right where she was hot and empty. “I promise, it’ll be worth it.”

“I have condoms,” Macy blurted out as she sat down on the edge of the bed. She was pretty sure the hot British stranger was about to go down on her, but when all was said and done she wanted him to fuck her and she’d come prepared. “In my purse.”

“Smart,” he gave her a quick, almost friendly kiss and went back to the counter where her purse lay and instead of going through it he brought it back and let her take the condoms out. Macy dropped her purse on the floor, put the condoms on the bed next to her.

“Now, where were we?” he asked, his eyes all but glittering with mischief. “Ah, yes.”

He went down to his knees in front of the bed, between her knees, and Macy resisted the urge to close her legs to his perusal. She knew she’d likely soaked through her underwear, but it didn’t matter because was pulling them down and she lifted her hips so he could take them off her.

“I do anything you don’t like, just say so,” he said, his full attention on her pussy before meeting her gaze with surprising seriousness. “And I’ll stop.”

Macy nodded, “Okay.”

“Now, lay down and let me see how many times I can get you to say my name.”

She laughed but did as told, shifting a little on the bed to get closer, then squealed when Harry pulled her towards him so her pelvis was at the edge of the bed.

And then he was tasting her.

But she couldn't stop thinking, couldn't stop analyzing everything that was happening. Was she enjoying this? What did she enjoy the most? Did she taste good? Did it matter if she did?

When nipped at the skin on the inside of her thigh. "I must not be doing this properly if you're capable of thinking quite so loud."

Macy covered her face with her eyes. "I'm sorry. I told you I was going to be weird."

He ran his hand along her leg, another soothing gesture. "It's not weird, I just want to make sure you're enjoying yourself."

"I am," she promised. "I can't turn my brain off."

"Watch me."

Macy's eyes widened, "What?"

"Watch me," he repeated and she couldn't help but do as he suggested. His head was wedged between her thighs, and he kept his gaze on hers as he flicked his tongue against her clit in a slow rhythm so she was anticipating each touch like the sweetest torture she could imagine. 

It was so erotic, she stopped thinking completely.

“Fuck,” Macy hissed, her fingers fisting in the sheets as his mouth went to work on the most sensitive, private part of her. Jesus, there was no way all men were this good at giving oral, he was going to ruin her for every other guy.

His tongue teased her entrance, her clit, building the tension and want until she was desperate for a release. She shamelessly moved against his mouth, trying to get the pressure she was all but dying for. “So impatient,” Harry murmured against the skin of her thigh. His lips left a tiny trail along her skin.

She felt his finger against her, a light touch at first, and then the blunt end of his forefinger was sliding into her. “Harry.”

His finger slid into her easily, and her pussy automatically clenched around the single digit.

“You are so hot and wet,” he praised, kissing her hip, her stomach, wherever he could seem to reach while his finger worked her into a frenzy. “My cock is so hard, Macy. I want to be inside you so desperately.”

She wanted the same thing, but she knew what he was doing. Using his fingers would stretch her, get her used to being invaded in such a lovely way so when he finally filled her it would only be pleasure, no pain.

Macy moved against his hand, wanton and wanting. “Harry, please.”

“Tell me what you want, love. I’ll give it to you.”

She tried not to blush at using the words, he was finger fucking her for crying out loud, the words shouldn’t feel so dirty. “Another finger,” she told him. “And your mouth.”

Macy could feel the wicked smile against her skin. “My pleasure.”

He slid two fingers into her, keeping up the steady rhythm. She wanted it faster, but whenever she tried to speed up the pace he pressed his hand on her stomach to still her. It was the sweetest agony, especially when he pressed his mouth against her cunt.

He licked and sucked her clit, and when she cried from the orgasm he didn’t miss a beat.

Harry kept it up, thrusting his fingers in and out so she could hear the sound of her own arousal, the wet sound almost loud in the quiet room where the only other noise was their breathing. He drove her up again, and the orgasm this time was so quick and sharp she nearly screamed his name as she crashed and fell apart.

His gaze was hot on hers as he pulled his fingers from inside her. “That was by far, the sexiest thing I have seen in my life.”

Her thoughts were briefly distracted by the slickness still on his fingers. Her arousal, and what he did to her, evident down to his palm.

“What’s the verdict?” She asked, vaguely surprised she could form full sentences. He raised a single brow and she had the bizarre desire to brush her finger along the curve of his brow, a stupidly affectionate gesture which had no place here. “How many times did I say your name?”

He laughed and it made everything light and warm inside her. “I lost count, but don’t worry, I intend to return the favor.”

“Oh?”

“By the end of the night, you’ll have lost count of how may times I’ve made you come.”

He said it like a promise, but the way her cunt clenched at the words, it felt like a warning.

Macy picked up the condom and carefully removed the wrapper. She looked up at him through her lashes, and saw he was already undoing his belt. “May I?”

“I truly wish you would.”

She set the condom down again and batted away his hands to finish undoing the button and zipper of his jeans, pushing them down his hips, taking his boxers with him. Macy was a doctor, and while not a medical one, dicks were not anything particularly new to her.

But this was Harry, and soon it would be inside her, and she wanted to take a moment.

“Can I touch you?” Macy asked, because it seemed polite to ask.

The muscles in his face were almost as tight as his voice when he nodded. “Yes.”

She brushed her thumb against his head, the precum sticking to her finger as she touched the length of him. Macy was careful with her nails, not wanting to hurt him, but she could tell by the unsteady breath of the man above her that she wasn’t hurting Harry in any way.

“If we had a little more time, I’d love to be in your mouth.”

Macy had the quick, erotic image of her tongue and mouth on his erection, taking him in and sucking him off. She wished they had the time as well, but this was one night and it was nearly over, so she took the condom and slowly rolled it on.

“Back on the bed,” he said, his voice taking on a dark, husky quality.

With a nod Macy moved further back on the bed, but didn’t lay down, instead resting her weight on her elbows so she could watch him.

He took his pants the rest of the way off, kicking off his shoes and socks before crawling on the bed towards her.

It might have been the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

When he kissed her she fell back onto the mattress, his body covering hers. She’d always pictured herself on top during sex, taking control, but as his weight settled on her and pressed her into the mattress she realized she’d been mistaken.

It turned out she liked losing control, enjoyed the feeling of floating along a river and being taken for a lovely, sometimes wild ride.

He kissed her like he had all the time in the world, his leg sliding between her thighs. As they made out Macy rode his leg, knowing she was getting her arousal all over his skin and not caring as the friction gave her some relief for the roiling need once again building up inside her.

His hands slid down her sides, her ribs, covered her ass and brought her tighter against him.

They couldn’t be any closer, Macy thought as she ran her hands over his shoulder and down his back. If they were, they’d be a single entity, unable to escape each other.

Harry sat up on his knees, and carefully moved Macy’s leg so he was between the v of her thighs. “Ready?”

Macy nodded and couldn’t help but touch him, her fingers tracing the lines of the muscle in his forearm. “Ready.”

He braced himself at her entrance, hands on her thighs as if worried she might get up and walk away. Macy couldn’t imagine being anywhere else on earth but exactly where she was.

Harry pressed into her, a slow movement which slowly spread her. When she could feel the tip inside her, she took a sharp breath. “Are you okay?”

Macy nodded, “More.”

“I have to go slow,” he told her, but she could hear from his voice doing so was difficult for him. “My fingers will have prepared you, but taking all of me is going to be a bit different. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Instead of answering, Macy took his hand and linked her fingers with his and impulsively kissed the back of it before resting their intertwined hands above her head on the bed.

Another inch and Macy gasped, moving against him, wanting to feel everything possible.

His hand tightened in hers as he shifted above her, resting his weight on his elbow. “Christ, Macy, you’re going to fucking kill me.”

“I’d rather you just fuck me,” she quipped back. She’d intended for it to sound like a tease but instead it came out a little breathless, revealing every bit of want building inside of her.

“I’d never refuse a lady.”

He slid almost completely out before moving back inside her, and the stretch was like nothing she’d ever felt before. Macy quickly caught on to the rhythm, raising her hips to meet him as he filled her a little more each time.

And then he was in her completely, she could feel his pelvis against hers, his breath hot against her throat. But he didn’t move again. It wasn’t a bad sensation, in fact it was almost erotic the way she wanted to move but couldn’t because the weight of him kept her still. “Harry?”

“You might not need a moment to adjust,” he started, taking in a deep breath. “But I do. You feel fucking amazing and I’m liable to make a fool of myself.”

Macy ran her free hand down the back of his neck, trying to soothe him. “I don’t mind.”

He laughed, a huff of breath, “I do.”

“You’ve given me more than enough pleasure, Harry.”

He raised himself up and looked down at her. “Can you take a little more, Macy?”

It might have sounded like a challenge or a dare coming from anyone else. But instead it sounded like an honest question, the kind someone would ask with their heart in their throat. “Yes, Harry. I can."

And then he started moving in earnest. The pace he set would have been brutal if Macy hadn’t been desperate for it. He no longer pulled out as much, keeping his thrusts short and quick enough Macy was barely able to keep up with him.

She let go of his hand, wrapping her arms around him to keep him close, and this time she paid no attention to her nails as they dug into his skin.

“Macy,” he murmured into the curve of her throat and she knew he was close to his end.

“Touch me, Harry,” she whispered into his ear. “Take me with you.”

He reached between them, where their bodies were entwined and found the hard little pearl of her desire and pressed down on it hard.

Macy’s entire body stiffened, her scream a silent thing as she climaxed so hard around him she could have sworn the entire room went bright with a white light.

Above her, Harry said her name as he found his own release and for a minute they lay there together, a slight sheen of sweat covering them both.

“Am I crushing you?”

Macy smiled against his cheek and shifted a little beneath him, her arms wrapped around his middle. She didn’t want to think about why she was so reluctant to let him go. “No, it’s kind of nice.”

Despite her answer Harry shifted a little, raising up on one elbow and it was nice to just look at him. His hands absently ran over her skin, and while it was no longer arousing it was incredibly intimate and that dangerous flutter in her chest took hold. “You know, when I went down to the bar last night I thought I’d get through the rest of my book, and maybe a couple glasses of wine.”

Macy smiled up at him. “Sorry for ruining your night.”

He laughed and gave her a kiss, “Hardly ruined, love. I’m never going to be able to pick up that book again without thinking about what it lead to. I’m going to use the bathroom.”

When he pulled out it was an odd feeling, but every muscle in Macy’s body was loose and warm. She could run a marathon or sleep for twelve hours.

With that thought Macy got up and went to the kitchen, feeling a little weird walking through a stranger’s apartment naked.

She paused at the sink, were they still strangers if they’d given each other orgasms?

Probably not, she decided as she found a glass and filled it with water. She drank half of it while collecting her clothes and putting her underwear back on.

“You’re welcome to use the bathroom if you want,” Harry said as he stepped out.

“Thanks,” she handed him the glass as she walked past him. “Hydrate.”

Macy used the restroom, freshened up as best she could and when she came out Harry had put on loose fitting pajama pants and was standing in the sitting area. They sat low on his hips and Macy took a breath in order to resist the urge to jump him.

“I hope the tea was to your liking.”

She grinned as she walked past him to grab her dress. “It was, thank you.”

His eyes were on her as she got dressed, she could feel the weight of them on her skin as she slipped on her shoes. “You don’t have to go, you know.”

Macy looked up, surprised by the suggestion, but immediately shook her head as she zipped herself up. It would have been nice to have him do it, but Macy didn’t trust herself. “I can’t.”

She walked towards him and stopped less than a foot away from. “If I don’t go now, I won’t go at all.”

“Hardly the worst idea.”

Her smile was soft as she leaned forward and kissed him. “I’ll see you around, Harry.”

He lightly pinched her chin between his thumb and finger and brought her back for another, longer kiss. “I’ll see you later, Macy.”

If only she’d known then how right he was.

Harry was distracted and staring at a wine glass when he should be getting ready to meet his new charges.

It had been a long time since he’d taken a woman to his bed. His job was dangerous, and required him to leave at a moment’s notice which was hardly conducive to romantic entanglements. And the idea of a one night stand had never particularly interested him.

And then Macy.

He’d seen her the moment she’d walked into the bar and had been utterly fascinated by her. She was dressed like she was there to meet someone, but her eyes looked all business as she took a seat by herself at the bar.

Harry had pretended to read as she watched her. She hadn’t checked her phone as if letting someone know she was there and he’d begun to wonder what she was about: a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress sitting alone in a bar.

Then Charity had called, and Macy had been so adorably awkward and funny he’d rather wished he didn’t need to step out and talk to the Elder who would be updating him on his new charges. He knew they were Marisol Vera's daughters, only one of which he'd already met.

He’d much rather have stayed and talked to the pretty brunette with the laughing eyes.

When she’d propositioned him, nothing had shocked him more and the idea of taking a stranger to bed suddenly had merit.

She kissed like an angel and had been wetter than sin.

And suddenly he was half hard thinking about her spread out on his bed. Frustrated with himself he grabbed his sweater felt a twinge from the marks Macy had left on his skin. He could have healed it easily enough, but for reasons he’d rather not consider he didn’t want to get rid of those last vestiges of her.

In the back of his head he heard three women say his name, and with a deep breath he orbed from his apartment to an attic on the other side of town.

He’d done this enough times he could orient himself to new places rather quickly and took in the cluttered space, Charity, Macy, Mel and the young woman who was likely Maggie.

Wait.

_Macy?_

His gaze slid back to hers and saw the same shock he felt written on her face.

Harry tried to remain composed, but it was a difficult thing to do when the woman who had screamed his name last night was standing in front of her looking as if she’d just seen a ghost. Meanwhile her sister yelled at him as though she’d like to throw him out the window.

Over Mel’s voice, Charity announced she’d let the four of them get to know each other and left, leaving him alone with the Vera-Vaughns.

“You know each other?” Macy asked, her eyes never leaving his.

“He’s the unqualified jackass took over mom’s position at the university,” Mel snapped. “And the bane of my existence.”

Harry didn’t take it personally and instead turned to the youngest witch whom he hadn’t formally met yet. She stepped forward with her hand out, immediately friendly. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He shook her hand but his gaze swung briefly back to Macy before returning to Maggie who watched him as if she saw more than he wanted her to. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie which was still perfectly in place. “Apologies, it’s just not everyday one is in the presence of the Charmed Ones. It’s lovely to meet you as well.”

Harry looked back at woman who had her hands linked together in front of her.

“And you must be Macy,” he said as he walked towards her. He had no idea how she wanted to play this, but without the ability to speak with her telepathically he had to go on instinct. The fact she hadn’t immediately let her sisters know she knew him suggested she’d like to keep their night a secret as well.

“I am.”

Unlike Maggie, Macy didn’t step forward to shake his head and for that Harry was grateful. He didn’t think he’d be able to retain his composure if he touched her right now.

“A pleasure,” he gave them each a nod and tried not to hold Macy’s gaze too long. “I presume you all have been brought up to date on my role?”

“We scream for help and you show up?” Maggie asked and he appreciated her attempt at brevity when it was clear there was a little bit of worry in her eyes.

“Something like that, yes. I’ve also been around for a while so I’ve got a certain amount of magical knowledge you might have need of from time to time.”

“How old are you?” Macy asked as if she couldn’t help herself.

“Technically? I’ll be a hundred in a few years,” and he got a little kick out of the surprise on the women’s faces. “But I died when I was 37.”

“Died?” Mel asked, she sounded so concerned he was touched, especially since most of the time she wanted to murder him.

“It was a little thing,” he tried for a smile. “And it didn’t take.”

Maggie pulled out of her phone and read it quickly, letting out a noise Harry couldn’t quite decipher. “Kappa stuff,” she announced to the room. “I’ll be back later for whatever witchy stuff comes up. See you later, Harry.”

“I look forward to it.”

Mel let out a heavy sigh, “And I’m going to finish packing up Niko’s stuff along with all of my hopes and dreams for the future. Yay. Are you going to hang around for a while?”

Harry nodded and didn’t look at Macy. “I’m at your disposal.”

Mel snorted. “Weird, but I can get behind it. Do you need anything Macy?”

“No, I’m good thanks.”

With a nod Mel walked out of the attic and Harry was left with the woman he’d spent a memorable night with. And for someone who had been alive for almost a century, that was saying something.

She was watching him as she if couldn’t quite figure him out and, like he had the night before, he waited for to take the lead.

“You’re more formal.”

It wasn’t what he’d expected her to say, but then she was constantly taking him by surprise. “This is my job, Macy.”

“I’m your job,” she said it slowly like saying it out loud made it real.

“Yes.”

Macy shifted from one foot to another, and he could practically feel the nerves coming off her in waves. “Did we break any rules?” she asked.

She was completely covered from shoulder to toe, the only bit of skin he could see was at the v of her shirt, but in the bright light of day, in her mother’s attic, he could easily remember every bit of skin beneath. It was…distracting.

“Not technically.” Macy’s brows lifted and he stepped forward to explain, keeping his voice low in case anyone was nearby and might overhear. “Relationships between whitelighters and witches are forbidden by the Elders, but as neither of us were aware of the other’s profession when we met I imagine it would be forgiven.”

“Forbidden? That’s a strong word.” He didn’t say anything as he could see the pieces siding into place for her. She wasn’t a particularly expressive person, but it was in the eyes; Harry could see a whole world happening behind them. “It’s a conflict of interest.”

“Just so,” he nodded. “Can’t have a whitelighter playing favorites when lives are on the line.”

Macy crossed her arms and something about the gesture made him want to walk towards her and give comfort, but he wasn’t stupid enough to follow through on the gesture. “Okay, then.”

She said it with such certainty Harry wasn’t sure he understood. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she repeated. “It was always meant to be a one time thing, so it’ll stay that way. Probably shouldn’t tell my sisters though.”

“Why is that?” he asked as he fought the kneejerk instinct to be offended. “Are you worried they might think less of you?”

He adored the fact she actually thought about it. She took every question as a serious matter, and it made her one of the most honest people he’d ever met. Which was why it was a little odd she wanted to keep something from her newly found family.

“No, I don’t think they’d think any less of me but…” the words trailed off as she looked at him. “Last night was personal. Private.”

Harry couldn’t agree more, but the idea of _never again_ while also looking at her every day was something he couldn’t quite wrap his head around. "In that case, I can take care of that for you."

"Take care of what?" Macy asked.

Suddenly feeling like a greenlad of 17 rather than 37 Harry swallowed and gestured vaguely at her. "You have a hickey."

Her eyes went wide and she moved to the dusty mirror hanging from a stud and moved her hair to see the barely noticeable bruise on her neck just below her neck. "Oh my God, I have a hickey." She turned back to look at him, but she seemed more shocked than angry which was a relief. "Do you think they saw?"

"I doubt it," he consoled. "I only noticed because I knew where to look. I can heal it."

Macy nodded and pulled her hair aside so Harry could put his hand an inch above her skin, the light pulsed briefly and the bruise was gone. "There. All better. And my apologies, I can't remember the last time I gave someone a bite mark."

She nodded and rubbed her hand over the spot he'd healed. She looked back at the mirror as if to make sure it was gone. "Is this why I went home with you?"

"I don't understand the question," he admitted.

"You're my whitelight," and the words were as odd for him to hear as they must have been for her to say. "Is that why I felt safe enough to trust you last night when every bit of common sense says I shouldn't have?"

Harry considered his words, wanting to give her an honest answer. "No, it wasn't why."

Macy nodded but didn't look completely convinced.

He stepped forward so his face was right behind hers in the mirror. "As a whitelighter my job is to help you, protect you, but the bond isn't a forgone thing. Trust is not a given. If you trusted me last night I'm honored, but it had nothing to do with our... professional connection."

Her lips quirked up at the corners and a little bit of tension left the room. When she turned around her shoulders weren't as stiff, "Professional connection?"

"There is a connection," he admitted with a shrug. "If you call out, I'll hear you. I'll come."

"Professionals," she repeated as if the word was important. "Colleagues."

"Colleagues it is then.”

Macy looked down at his hand when he extended it out between them.

“This is going to end so badly,” she remarked, but sounded almost darkly amused by the prospect as she shook his hand.

Harry had to agreed as her fingers curved around his because his first instinct was to pull her to him and ravish her on the dusty couch pushed up against the wall.

This was going to end very, very badly indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to share on [tumblr](https://ofsinnersandsaints.tumblr.com/post/616749014269018117/one-night-and-every-morning-after)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during episode four

“Failed simulation again,” Harry announced as they reemerged from the simulation crystal.

Macy faltered a little as she got her balance back in the real world, and watched as Harry scolded each of her sisters in turn, knowing he wouldn’t spare her the same admonishment. It had been a difficult thing to adapt to, because she certainly didn’t want differential treatment from Harry, but at the same time she wasn’t _just_ his charge.

“As for you," he began, turning to her. "I am deeply disappointed.”

And him doing the disappointed teacher thing in the three piece suit was doing weird things to her heartbeat. “I don’t know what happened,” she managed to get out.

She remembered a fellow student in her freshman or sophomore year of college who’d had a raging crush on their disapproving and stiff professor, which Macy hadn’t understood it all. But as Harry stood in front of her, all stern disciplinarian, she began to understand.

“Macy, you need to relax.”

Her shoulders were stiff, her spine straight, and every muscle was clenched as if releasing them might betray what was going on inside her head. “I am relaxed.”

His gaze told her he didn’t buy her lie, but it wasn’t as if she’d expected him to believe her. He’d see her at her most relaxed after all. Harry’s voice softened slightly, “Magic isn’t some test you can ace, it should come as natural as breathing. So, please, try and stand out of your own head. The only who should be in there is Maggie.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, whoever is thinking horny thoughts needs to stop,” Maggie quipped, not even looking up from her phone.

No one moved. Macy held her breath.

“You’re not even touching anyone,” Mel pointed out.

“I know,” she glared at each person in the room as she put her phone in her pocket. Macy wasn’t sure what ‘turned on and hiding it’ looked like but she hoped she was pulling it off. “I’m serious. I have a lot of stuff I need to do before I go to bed, and I cannot do it if I’m distracted.”

Macy pulled her hands together in front of her. “Are you sure it’s not just you?”

“Oh, I’m sure. It kind of feels like someone having really loud sex in the room next to you. It’s kind of hot, but it’s also kind of annoying.” She looked at them as if expecting whoever it was to just turn it off, and Macy was trying but it was incredibly difficult to do when Harry was still standing so close. “Fine, I’m going to my room. It was nice nearly dying with you all in Harry’s ball, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Mel rolled her eyes. “I have homework to do.”

“You will leave this to the Elders, won’t you?” Harry all but begged.

“Totally,” Mel agreed as she walked across the attic, picking up the Book of Shadows and walking out with it.

Beside her, Harry sighed, because they both knew Mel wasn’t going to leave this up to anyone. She was too stubborn and too independent to let anyone tell her what to do.

“You’ve got to work on your tells, Macy.” Caught off guard by the quiet, almost affectionate warning, Macy looked up at him as he tapped her still clenched hands. “Sooner or later your sisters will figure it out.”

Macy’s cheek heated, she could feel the flush covering her face and neck. Harry had _known_ she was the one thinking the horny thoughts. Had he realized they’d been about him?

Meeting his gaze she nearly took a step back at the inferno she saw blazing there.

She pulled her hands apart and resisted the urge to put them on him. Maggie and Mel were in their rooms, and unlikely to come back up to the attic anytime soon. It would be such an easy thing to do, to pull him forward and kiss him.

“Macy.” It was a warning this time, in a dark and husky voice Macy remembered from when he’d been on top of her. In her. “I never in my life wished for the ability to read minds, but I’d give more than I’m willing to admit to know what’s put that particular look in your eyes.”

She forced herself to take a step back because the temptation to take a step forward was almost more than she could resist. “Probably better not to know.”

He straightened, neither of them having realized he’d leaned forward just a little. “You’re quite right, I should go. Good night, Macy.”

So formal, she thought sadly, wanting to pull Harry back from the whitelighter persona. “Good night, Harry.”

Without another word he orbed away and Macy was left alone in the attic with a hurricane of emotions rolling through her. She didn’t like that she’d disappointed Harry in the simulation, hated the fact Maggie had gotten hurt because of her indecision. And beyond that she was almost unbearably turned on by the ridiculous fantasies still trying to assert themselves in her mind.

She decided to deal with one problem at a time, all but storming down the stairs to her room. Macy made sure to lock the door behind her – she was quickly beginning to learn Maggie and Mel thought an unlocked door was an open invitation to come in – and reached under her bed to the small box she kept hidden.

The vibrator inside wasn't what she wanted, but it would do the job.

Macy changed into one of two silk nighties she had, a splurge buy she’d initially regretted but had since been grateful for. Sometimes it was just nice to go to bed in something completely decadent. Slipping under the covers Macy closed her eyes and thought back to that co-ed who had lusted after their teacher.

_“I’m just saying,” she’d grinned. “Imagine him asking you to his office to discuss your paper and you bombed. He’d be standing there all stoic and unmoving, telling you everything you did wrong before coming around the desk and putting his hand on your knee. And he tells you he can give you a better grade if you just do something for him. Tell me that isn’t hot as hell.”_

At the time, it hadn’t been because she hadn’t even liked the professor, much less found him attractive. But Macy knew Harry, knew what his skin felt like beneath her fingertips. She knew the sound of his voice and the shivers his mouth could induce.

It was an easy enough thing to picture that scenario with Harry, with his crisp voice and well tailored suits. Macy began to wrap herself up in the fantasy, imagining her hands were his as she touched and teased herself. She was wet within minutes, the fantasy evolving as she pictured herself on a desk with Harry standing between her thighs.

Macy imagined it all to be a little frantic, rushed, because anyone could come by and interrupt them. He’d slide into her thick and hard, a single thrust to fill her up. She reached for her vibrator and turned in on low, sliding it in as she used her fingers on her clit. It was an unsteady rhythm but she could feel herself getting close as she imagined Harry getting rough with her on desk.

When she finally came it was a relief, but she knew it wasn’t nearly as good as it would have been if Harry had been in her bed with her.

Macy baked to calm herself, so the next morning she decided to make frittatas for breakfast and was in the middle of cracking an egg when Mel came down, talking about how they were going to handle the harbinger. Macy liked how certain her sister sounded, but at the same time, “Shouldn’t we be doing what we were told and leaving it to the Elders? Remember what happened with the spirit board?”

“Elders smelders,” Mel grimaced. “I was up last night trying to figure out how to find the harbinger, and I found a spell, but it involves sacrificing a goat and I don’t know where we’d find one.”

Macy smiled at the idea of her and her sisters sacrificing anything, let alone a goat. Mostly-vegan Maggie would never let it happen, and Harry would probably find out and put a lid on it before they got further than a Google search.

As Macy finished the frittata Maggie came downstairs and began filling up her to go cup with coffee, putting in more sugar than was probably necessary.

“Sugar!”

Both her sisters looked at her, and Macy quickly explained how they could use the sugar to find the harbinger. “Maybe I can bake something? Cookies, shortbread, I make a mean chocolate souffle.”

“Cookies,” Mel smiled. “But maybe you can do the souffle some night this week. Where are you going?”

Maggie stopped next to Macy, “I had to pick up an extra shift to pay Lucy back for a sorority retreat.”

“Oh, because sorority stuff is way more important than protecting the world from the Source?”

With a grin, Maggie threw her arm around Macy. “Snark away, but I’m not the only one with priorities. Right, Macy?”

“Boundaries!”

“Sorry,” Maggie apologized and didn’t look in the least bit regretful. “But since you’re wondering, don’t worry, Galvin’s going to think you’re a snack in that outfit.”

Macy was briefly confused by Maggie’s statement. Galvin? Why would she care what – and then she remembered Maggie’s power weren’t exactly clear cut, she got impressions as often as she got thoughts. Macy had been worrying what she looked like and because her little sister didn’t know about Harry, she’d automatically jumped to Galvin whom Macy had become friendly with when she moved to town.

Letting her think she was interested in Galvin was better than letting her sister know she’d gotten off last night thinking about their whitelighter. She and Harry agreed to keep it a one time thing, especially as what they’d shared was now forbidden. She’d never want to risk losing Harry or getting him trouble, but it didn’t stop her from wanting him at the most inconvenient times.

“Aren’t you going to be late for work?” Macy evaded.

Maggie laughed. “Classic avoidance, but I’ll allow it for now. Bye witches!”

“Be careful with her,” Mel warned. “She’s the worst when it comes to matchmaking, if she thinks you’re into Galvin nothing will stop her from making it happen.”

“Oh, boy.”

“Welcome to having sisters,” Mel congratulated, her voice dry. “How long will it take for you to make the cookies?”

“Not long, maybe an hour?”

“Do you want help?”

“No, you probably have other stuff you need to do.”

“Not really,” Mel opened a tall cupboard and pulled out a couple of aprons and handed one to Macy. “This was the one Mom used.”

Incredibly touched by the gesture, Macy put on the apron and together with Mel they made more cookies than Macy had ever seen in her life. She took a handful with her to the lab and put one in the breakroom and another at her desk. It wasn’t the most sterile of environments, but she would keep her work to mostly data to keep from contaminating anything.

“I didn’t know you baked.”

Macy looked up to see Galvin and remembered what Maggie had said that morning in the kitchen, and quickly buttoned of her lab coat. “Yeah, when I can. It’s relaxing. Help yourself to one.”

Galvin took a cookie, and leaned against the desk. “No costume?”

“I have a deep fear that if I wear a costume I’ll show up at work and be the only one wearing one,” she told him honestly. “Though I can see looking ridiculous isn’t a worry everyone has. An incomplete DNA helix? As a scientist, you should be ashamed.”

He grinned, and she liked the fact he thought she was funny. Maybe if she hadn’t become a witch she’d have liked him as more than a co-worker and friend, but her life was entirely too complicated to include him in it as well. “Berkowitz called in sick,” Galvin defended as he ate the cookie.

“I don’t blame him.”

“Haha, you’re hilarious.” He took another cookie but didn’t immediately eat it, looking down at where she sat at her desk. “I was thinking though, would you want to go dinner tonight? No costumes required.”

There was an immediate panic in her chest at the question. Should she say yes? Macy knew she couldn’t have Harry, so maybe she should try and move on from him with this very nice guy who understood her nerdy humor.

Almost as soon as she had the thought she dismissed it. It wouldn’t be fair to Galvin or herself to use him like that, and it wasn’t as if it would lead to anything. Anyone the Charmed Ones got involved with would become a target, and she’d already had a one night stand turn into an awkward colleagues situation, she didn’t need another in her life. “That is a very nice offer, but I have plans with my sister already.”

“Right, right. Well, the offer stands if you’re interested.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Galvin hesitated for a second before walking back to his station and Macy let out a long breath, partly in relief because Galvin wasn't the harbinger, but mostly because her life had never been this complicated before and it was exhausting.

Harry had quickly learned there were different ways the Charmed Ones called for him, and it was nice to have so quickly learned the panicked shouts for the urgent ones, but it often took him by surprise when it was Macy. Hearing her call out his name always hit like a punch to the gut and if the women noticed it took him a half second longer to respond when it was Macy as opposed to Maggie and Mel, no one mentioned it.

When he arrived on the front porch of the Vera house – and maybe doing so in broad daylight wasn’t the best idea, another indicator he wasn’t thinking right when it came to Macy – he found the woman in question arguing with Maggie.

He saw the heavy bags Macy was holding as he listened to them bicker and Mel tattle on the bracelet he’d given her. “He is threatened by the idea of a powerful woman,” she finished.

“Harry!” Macy scolded.

“The last bit is fake news,” Harry explained as he took one of the bags from her and she gave him a grateful smile before frowning. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. “Does anyone know anything about a party here tonight?”

“Maggie,” Harry answered at the same as Mel, all three of them walking into the house to see Maggie elegantly descending the stairs in a purple dress.

“You invited Galvin behind my back.”

Harry nearly dropped the bag he was holding, turning from Maggie’s rather elaborate outfit to Macy’s look of accusation. Galvin? The bloke she worked with at the lab?

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“Do I look like someone who enjoys surprises?”

Maggie almost looked apologetic. “Okay, I know. Boundaries. But here me out,” and she began to explain how they might use a Halloween party to eliminate more people at once. Harry followed along while trying to figure out why Maggie would have invited Macy’s coworker behind her back.

It was a good enough plan, and the Elders certainly hadn’t been helpful over the past couple of days so Harry was forced to give his approval of the scheme. “Then I better get to making more cookies,” Macy announced and headed towards the kitchen with her bag.

Realizing he was carrying the rest of her ingredients he followed her and set it on the island, pulling out the items as he watched her. “Galvin, huh?”

“What?” she asked, looking briefly confused before blushing. “Oh. No. That was Maggie being Maggie. I mentioned him once as someone who was helping me find a place when I first moved here and she latched onto it.”

She paused, a bag of sugar in her hand. “He did ask me out though, so that’s going to be awkward tonight.”

Jealousy was a base emotion, and had no place in an adult male’s life, especially one who had lived for almost a century – and yet, there was no other word which could encapsulate the sharp tug around his heart and the almost possessive nature he felt towards his witch just then.

Well, not _his_ witch.

But damn him, he couldn’t help but ask, “Awkward because you said no?”

She put down the sugar and started pulling the rest of the groceries out of the bag. “I know the rules, Harry. No relationships with non-magical people.”

He reached out to touch her, but stopped himself half way. Generally speaking, he was a tactile person and he wouldn’t think twice about a hand on Maggie or Mel, but things were different between himself and Macy because he’d already touched her in every way a person could.

No contact between them could be purely platonic.

“That’s not what I meant,” he gently corrected her. “I was just-“

“Curious?” she asked with a raised brow which told him without words she knew exactly what he was about. “Are you asking as my whitelighter or as Harry from the bar?”

“How about as Harry, your friend?” he offered. She snorted which amused him enough he smiled and teased her. “Oh, are we not friends?”

“Sure, Harry, we can be friends,” she said dryly.

“Your enthusiasm at the prospect is overwhelming.” This time when she laughed he considered it a small, but important victory. “Are you going to need any help with the biscuits?”

“Biscuits? Oh, you mean the cookies. No, I’ve got it handled, but thanks.”

“Great, then I will try the Elders one more time. If you need anything-“

“I’ll call,” she promised.

The Elders proved useless, so Harry used the rest of the time he had to get a costume. The ability to orb around the world was useful, and probably a misuse of his powers, but he managed to find something he thought would be suitable. His job was to remain in the background, unnoticed, so people wouldn’t ask too many questions about who he was or why he was there.

Once the party started he made the rounds with the trays of pumpkin bis- _cookies_ and when no one had begun throwing up any dark liquids he figured they were in the clear for now. “Have you seen Macy or Maggie?”

Harry looked down at Mel who appeared worried. “Is everything alright?”

“No, Niko just told me something and I think it’s got to do with the,” she was knocked from behind by someone passing through and she rolled her eyes. “The cookies.”

“The cookies?”

“The reason for the cookies,” she added, a pointed look on her face.

“Right.”

“I texted Maggie and she said she was on her way, but I haven’t heard back from Macy.”

Harry was already looking around the party goers, “I’ll find her and meet you in the kitchen.”

Mel moved off in the direction of the kitchen and Harry made his way through the crowd, but instinctively knew she wasn’t down here. He moved to the stairs and walked up to the second floor and knocked on Macy’s bedroom door. “It’s me.”

“Come in,” he heard her call from inside.

It was always a little odd coming into her space. It reminded him a little of his own apartment, sparse with little in the way of mementos, as if she too was ready to pick up and leave at a moment’s notice. But when he walked into the room he wasn’t looking at the knick-knacks.

When his eyes fell on Macy, it was all but impossible to look anywhere else.

She looked like… “You’re a goddess.”

There was pleasure on her face at the compliment, bright and beautiful, then it was gone as quickly as it had arrived. “Oh, right. The costume.”

He wanted to correct her, because his comment had nothing to do with what she was wearing, but how she wore it. She was utterly breathtaking, but they were trying to be friends, and such a comment would further destroy whatever lines they’d drawn between them.

“It was Maggie’s idea,” she explained, her fingers folding together in front of her. He didn’t call her out on the tell, but wondered why she was nervous. “I’m supposed to be Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld.”

“And the Goddess of Spring,” Harry added.

“You can be two things at once,” Macy said with a soft laugh. And at his questioning look she added, “It’s a sister thing, I think Maggie was trying to make a point. Was there something you needed?”

“Mel, actually. She has an update on our current crisis but couldn’t get a hold of you.”

“Yeah, Maggie used the glamour spell on me and I have no idea what it did to my phone.”

Harry shook his head at the youngest Vera’s antics. “Well, they’re waiting for us in the kitchen.”

Maggie nodded. “Let’s go.”

Together they headed downstairs, but in the few minutes they’d been gone the party seemed to have doubled. It was a crush and Macy was having a difficult time following him through the crowds. He stopped and waited for her to catch up to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” but she sounded aggravated. “Have I ever told you how much I love loud parties?”

“Likely as much as I do,” he commiserated and reached down to take her hand in his. “There, now we can’t get separated.”

Macy took a deep breath, but nodded and together they made their way through the sexy librarians and shirtless jungle men to the kitchen. They stopped and for a moment Harry forgot he wasn’t supposed to be holding Macy’s hand, it had felt so right in his, but she was smarter than him and dropped his before her sisters turned around.

“What’s happened?” Macy asked when Mel and Maggie realized everyone had arrived.

Mel explained about the deaths and they quickly came to the conclusion the harbinger was looking for virgins.

“What if we seal off the place with a protection spell,” Macy suggested. “To keep demons from entering.”

“Fine, but once the house is sealed, we go out hunting.”

“Done,” Harry agreed because they couldn’t have a demon going around town killing every virgin it came across. Who knew how bloody the night could get? After a personal conversation with Mel outside in the garden Maggie joined them, and then Macy a few minutes later.

“What took you so long?” Mel asked as she took her place along the line of salt.

“I ran into Galvin,” Macy answered tightly, shooting a look at her younger sister.

Maggie didn’t notice the scolding look, or just as likely didn’t care as she grinned and nearly bounced from one foot to another. “Did he ask you out again? Did you say yes this time?”

“I didn’t give him a chance,” Macy answered, putting the candle on the salt and standing beside Harry. “Because I don’t want to date him.”

“But this morning-“

“This morning,” Macy interrupted, leaning forward to talk around Harry. “Was private and had nothing to do with you, Maggie. Please, just leave it alone.”

“Fine,” and it was all but a pout. “But you wanted someone to think you were hot, I wasn’t wrong about that.”

“Maggie!”

Mel interjected because the two sisters could bicker more. “Can we please do this protection spell so we can hunt down a dangerous demon?”

“Yes,” Harry agreed and together the three women did the incantation but the spell didn’t take hold the way it should. Realizing the demon was inside with the innocents – a relative term if there ever was one – they needed to find a way to lure it out and away from the crowd.

“When you want to lure a shark, you don’t use live bait,” Macy said solemnly. “You chum the water.”

“Great, but where are we going to get virgin blood?”

“Right here,” Macy announced which confused Harry because he was one of only two people in the world who knew Macy wasn’t a virgin. He remembered sliding into her all too vividly for it to have been a figment of his imagination. But it wasn’t as if he could call her out on the lie.

Macy took out her hair piece and uses the sharp end to cut into her palm.

“Are you sure about this,” Harry asked, and she finally met his gaze and seemed to read his confusion. Thankfully, Mel and Maggie were behind him and couldn’t see the look they exchanged.

“I am,” she assured him and then stepped to the side so she could see her sisters. “Technically I’m not a virgin, not anymore. I slept with someone a few weeks ago, the night before we became the Charmed Ones, but red blood cells live for about four months which means there should be enough virgin blood in me for this to work.”

And now it all made sense.

“That’s really smart, Macy,” Mel congratulated.

“Is that why you’re being so weird about dating Galvin?” Maggie asked, apparently not able to stay on task. “Because you’re still hung up on the one night stand?”

Harry would have given more than was reasonable to hear the answer to that particular question. He could not remember ever being so preoccupied with the thought of another human being, but it was near to driving him to distraction. “Maggie.”

The scold came from himself, Macy, and Mel and this time she looked properly contrite. “Sorry. By all means, lets use our sister to lure a dangerous demon into the woods.”

With that settled they left the backyard and circled around to the woods, Macy wiping her blood on a tree every few yards. “I can hear you thinking from here, Maggie.”

“It’s just, being a virgin is cool-“

“It’s really just a tool of the patriarchy to control our sexuality.”

“You do you, but was there a reason?”

Harry was following the women, and was trying very hard to appear as if wasn’t following every word being spoken. The night they'd met he hadn’t asked her why she’d never had a sex because it hadn’t seemed his place, but he could admit to himself that now that he knew her, he wondered.

“Sure there was a reason. There were a lot of reasons. Unplanned pregnancy, transmission rate of HPV, it was pretty easy to psych myself out when I was 18." She stopped and faced the group, "Back in high school, I wanted my first time to be perfect. You know, perfect place, with the perfect guy.”

“Yeah but there’s no such thing as perfect, so what made you change your mind?”

“I was about to go into the unknown,” Macy explained with a shrug. “I didn’t have time to wait for perfect. I just wanted to share that intimacy with someone before I lost myself to all of this. I wanted something human. And I found something pretty close to it.”

“Something close to human?” Mel asked.

Her smile was soft, her eyes a little distant and Harry could just imagine she was back in his apartment with a glass of wine, rumpled bed sheets. She shifted her gaze from her sisters to Harry, and he felt the full force of it from six feet away. “Something close to perfect.”

The instinct to go to her, to rush past her sisters and take her in his arms was so powerful he took a step forward before he realized what he was doing.

Macy smiled like she understood, “We should keep moving.”

She turned and they all followed her further into the woods, Macy spreading her blood as they went.

When they found a spot they could use they braced themselves for the arrival of the Harbinger, and Harry thought they might actually pull this off except at the very last moment Maggie flinched and her high heels changed into beat up trainers.

She fell to her knees.

Harry wanted to orb Macy out of there, she was the one in the most danger, but they’d need all three sisters to take on harbinger. He grabbed her hand and healed it before ordering her to run.

Macy ran, stumbled and fell as magic washed over her.

When she got back up she was no longer wearing the gorgeous costume of a goddess, but the work out clothes she’d been wearing when Maggie had cast the spell on her.

She could hear the harbinger catching up, and used her powers to give herself whatever advantage she could but she knew it wouldn’t last long. Sooner or later the supernatural would catch up with her.

In the woods she could hear Maggie yell that she was coming, knew Harry and Mel would be on their way as well. She didn’t have to defeat the harbinger, she just had to outrun it long enough for her family to get to her.

When she got to a large tree Macy leaned against it, hoping to catch her breath for just a few seconds.

She didn’t want to die out here, not without having told her sisters she loved them. Not without kissing Harry one more time.

Then she turned her head to see the thing wearing Angela Wu’s face hanging upside from a tree and Maggie was suddenly there with a tree branch in her hand, Mel and Harry arriving just a few seconds later.

It was over.

Or so she thought for all of a second and then Mel was holding sunlight in her hand before everything went black.

Macy felt the warmth first, spreading through her body, an instant before she heard the voices.

“Come on, come on.”

Mel’s voice and she sounded worried.

And then it all came back, the bright light, the force pushing her back until she slammed against the tree. She groaned, everything hurt.

“Oh, god.” Mel and Maggie were holding her arms, helping her sit up. Harry was standing in front of her, his eyes full of worry and relief. “Are you okay? I’m so, so sorry.”

“I’m good,” Macy promised, and suddenly Harry’s hands were helping her up off the ground. “Thanks.”

“Are you alright?” he asked softly.

Macy took a moment to take stock of her body and nodded. “My head hurts, and I’m going to be sore tomorrow, but I’ll be fine. Thanks for the save.”

“Anytime,” he promised, taking a step back once she was steady on her feet. “I’ll take care of our friend here, but you might want to get back to the house and deal with your friends.”

Maggie winced. “Right, no more glamour. Hopefully everyone will blame it on being drunk. Macy, you coming?”

Macy shook her head, “I’m going to take a minute. I’ll catch up with you both.”

Mel and Maggie nodded and headed through the woods back to the house. After they were out of sight Macy turned to Harry, surprised to see he was still looking at her as if she’d fall apart any moment. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” she promised and walked towards him with as much purpose as her bruised muscles would allow. Harry looked briefly confused, his eyes narrowing for a second before widening at the realization of what she was about to do.

“Macy-“

“I almost died, Harry,” she reminded him reaching for the lapels of his tux. “Just give me this.”

She barely finished the sentence before he was kissing her, his arms were hard bands wrapped around her waist as he pulled her close. She held onto him as wave after wave of want washed over her, she trailed her tongue along his lips, tasted the groan as it vibrated through him.

Macy didn’t know how long they would have gone like that, drinking each other in, if the demon a few feet away hadn’t moaned and moved against the underbrush. Harry pulled back, but kept one arm wrapped around her waist. “I should take care of this."

“Right.” Despite the fact it was the last thing she wanted to do, she stepped out of his embrace. “I’ll see you back at the house.”

Harry nodded and reached for the harbinger, giving her one last long look before orbing off to wherever whitelighters went to whenever they weren’t with their charges.

As he left, Macy was more than a little worried he’d taken a piece of her with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to share on [tumblr](https://ofsinnersandsaints.tumblr.com/post/618008335918235648/one-night-and-every-morning-after)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is me showing up fourth months late with Dutch Bros and mutual pining

Living with the Charmed Ones was not an easy endeavor. Aside from the fact he had never lived with quite so many females before, Harry had neglected to fully take into account being in the same house as Macy for more than a few hours at a time.

He had never particularly believed in the romantic concept of being able to smell another person, but he would swear on the Book of Shadows he could smell Macy everywhere. It had been bad enough in his apartment when he would convince himself he could smell her on his pillow case despite having washed it multiple times since she’d rested her head on it.

Now her scent was everywhere. It was driving him a little bit mad, and only ever went away when he was making breakfast. Then of course she’d come downstairs in a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt for coffee. Her eyes still groggy and her spine relaxed as if she’d briefly forgotten she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Harry sat up in his makeshift bed and ran a hand over his face. He’d been trying to go to sleep for a few hours now and he was officially giving up. Grabbing his things, he headed down the stairs to the bathroom. He’d take a shower and get ready for the day, try to figure what to do next.

He opened the door and was immediately overtaken by the scent of spruce and cinnamon.

“Harry!”

The feminine scold was enough to make him take a step back, but it took him another second to understand what he was looking at. After a few blinks his gaze focused on a wet Macy who was barely covered by the bubbles in her bath.

“What are you doing?”

He watched as her embarrassment quickly switched to exasperated amusement, “Building a boat. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“It’s one in the morning,” he pointed out inanely.

“And yet here you are.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he admitted and tried to figure out whether he was supposed to stay or leave because instead of kicking him out she closed her eyes as if she was comfortable with his presence, sinking lower into the tub and resting her head back against the tub.. “Figured I might as well get on with the day.”

Macy opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him. “Is everything okay?”

He kept his gaze on her face, because allowing his eyes to drift anywhere else was a sure way to get himself in trouble. For the briefest of moments he pondered telling her the truth, that she was reason he couldn’t get to sleep.

What would her response be? They hadn’t brought up the kiss in the woods, an unspoken agreement between them both not to speak of it. And yet wasn’t it still there between them, like a flame getting hotter?

“Merely restless,” he finally answered because it was at least mostly true. “Can I inquire as to why you’re in the bath at one in the morning?”

“Late night bubble baths are my safe space. Usually it’s quiet and the only time I can get an uninterrupted hour to myself.” Her smirk was all soft amusement, “Usually.”

“Might be a good idea to use the lock on the door then.”

Macy laughed, the sound muffled to keep from waking her sisters who were just down the hall. “I didn’t think I needed to at one in the morning.”

Harry leaned against the counter, happy to enjoy this quiet moment with Macy without all her guards and walls up. It was such a rare thing he’d be more than willing to wake up at one am every morning just to see it. “And what if I had been a demon?” he teased. “I could have walked right in here and killed you.”

She snorted, “I have never seen a demon thwarted by a lock.”

“Fair point.”

“And besides,” she picked her hand up out of the bath, bubbles and water sliding down her skin as she wiggled her fingers. “I’m always armed.”

His eyes got distracted by the water and the skin and the reminder Macy was naked underneath those opaque bubbles which would evaporate sooner rather than later.

He thought about walking towards her, pulling her out of the bath or joining her in it. Her sisters were asleep, weren’t they? And the attic was far enough away they could –

“UGH!”

The sound caught both Macy and himself by surprise, but Harry immediately recognized it as Maggie bemoaning from her bedroom. He turned to Macy, whose hand was still up and before he realized what was happening he was being thrown out the open door and slammed against the wall behind him.

It took a moment for Harry to get his bearings about him, and by the time he was standing up Macy was covered in a towel and Maggie was standing in the hallway with a rolled up yoga mat for a weapon. He should seriously considering getting them actual weapons to fight with.

When he looked to Macy she appeared extremely apologetic, but the three ribs he was more than certain were bruised were enough to ignore it. “A telekinetic force bolt of that magnitude was quite uncalled for.”

She tried for a smile and wiggled her fingers. “Always armed.”

“The demonstration wasn’t required, but if I didn’t believe you before, I certainly believe you now.”

“It is the middle of the night,” Maggie pointed out, finally lowering the bright pink weapon. “What are you two doing?”

“I was taking a bath,” Macy answered a little to quickly to be casual. “Harry walked in, I panicked.”

“You should really knock before going into the bathroom if the door is closed,” Maggie suggested prosaically. “Oh! I wonder if there’s a privacy spell in the Book of Shadows?”

There likely was, but he didn’t need to be thinking about that right now. “What are you doing up?”

Maggie grimaced. “I need a guilt removing spell. I’m meeting Lucy for coffee, and I haven’t seen her since the accident.”

Beside him Macy grinned and stepped closer to him. “Accident? You mean kissing her boyfriend?”

Harry resisted the urge to put his hand on Macy when she moved into his space, but he couldn’t resist teasing Maggie. “Yes, how does one accidentally press one’s lips against another?”

“When one has to distract another from walking into an exorcism,” she quipped back.

Mel came out of her bedroom then to scold them all for waking her up at one am and then the Vera sisters went back to their rooms. When the doors were closed Harry stepped back towards Macy, keeping his voice low. “What, pray tell, was that for?”

She reached out, one hand keeping her towel in place and while the other pressed against the fabric of his pajamas. He’d never hated a garment so much in his life.

“I’m so sorry,” she apologized and her scent surrounded him as she moved closer, a spell in and of itself. “I panicked. I heard Maggie and I started thinking about what would happen if she saw you in the bathroom while I was in the bath.”

“Naked,” he corrected, and could hear the change in his own voice with the word.

Her eyes darted up, a quick hitch in her breath as she did so. “What?”

“While you were naked in the bath.”

“It would be a little silly if I was wearing a bathing suit,” she teased but he could see goosebumps covering her arms.

Harry glanced up at the closed doors of Maggie and Mel before he reached up and cupped her elbow, his thumb pressed into the skin. A steady pressure, a promise and a dare.

He was a stupid man with dangerous desires.

Macy’s fingers curled into the fabric of his robe. “I should probably go to bed,” her eyes dipped down to his mouth and of its own accord his free hand came up to her hip. “Some of us have jobs to get to in the morning.”

“I’ll have you know I have a job,” he reminded her and it would be the easiest thing in the world to tug off her towel and taking the teasing glint in her eye upstairs. “It’s quite a difficult one, in fact.”

“Do tell.”

“I have to watch after three rather difficult sisters.”

She grinned, “They sound awesome.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I have a favorite.” She was laughing when he leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Good night, Macy.”

“Night, Harry.”

It was an incredibly difficult thing to let her go, but he did. He turned around and headed up the stairs to the attic, forgetting the fact he’d gone down originally to take a shower and start the day. Instead he got back into the pull out sofa which had been his home the past few days and promptly fell asleep with the smell of spruce and cinnamon surrounding him.

Macy was not going to obsess about Galvin’s new friend. Was it weird he’d been sucked into a – how did Victor put it? – Summer Sex Haze? Yes. But he was allowed to be dumb, even though at this point he was risking his job for it.

She thought about talking to him, but she wasn’t sure how that conversation would go.

‘Hey, remember how you wanted to go out with me, but I evaded you? Well, now I’m wondering if you’re being reckless and moronic by taking up with an objectively hot woman.’

As she moved to the break room pondering exactly how badly that conversation would go, her phone rang. “Hey, Mel.”

“Can you not be in the house tonight?”

Macy stopped by the fridge. “Um, I could probably find something else to do. For how long?”

“I don’t know,” Mel answered, sounding like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. “Niko is having a really hard day so I was going to make dinner-“

“Oh, date night get out of the house.” it had been a long time since she’d had a roommate who dated, at least since college, but she remembered those night easily enough. At least back then she’d been able to go to the library and study in order to stay out of the way. “Got it.”

“You don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t mind. What is Maggie doing?”

“Something something Lucy, I wasn’t really paying attention to be honest. Once she said ‘sorority’ I sort of tuned her out.”

Macy pressed her fingernail into the napkin on the counter and tried her best to keep her voice casual. “And Harry?”

“Harry can orb in and out of the house, and he lives in the attic like a crazy relative so I’m not too worried about him. I just told him to stay out of the first floor.”

“Okay, let me know if you need anything. I know it’s not going to be easy.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.” Macy hung up the call and didn’t give herself time to think before calling Harry on her cell. “Harry, hi.”

“You called.”

She smiled at his utter bafflement. “Yes, I did.”

“On a phone?”

“Well, I’m at work so a strange British man showing up out of thin air might seem strange.”

“I take offense to being called strange.”

“Duly noted. I just got off the phone with Mel.”

“Yes,” his voice was dryer than a cracker. “She warned me about making too much noise and staying in my attic.”

“Well, I don’t really have anywhere to hang out while Mel and Niko have dinner so I was wondering if you’d share your attic tonight.”

There was a pause on his end of the line. “Would you mind bringing food?”

“I don’t mind at all. Do you have a preference?”

“Surprise me.”

“Okay, I’ll pick something up after work and let you know when I get to the house.”

“I look forward to it.”

Macy ended the call and wondered why it felt as if she’d just set up a date with her whitelighter.

Four hours later Macy parked her car a little down the road from the house and pulled out the stuff she’d bought on the way home. Walking down the sidewalk she looked up at the small window which overlooked the street and the balcony they never used because it was too small to be of any use.

She watched the briefest shadow walk past the window and couldn’t help but smile. Macy could just imagine him pacing with a book in his hand, no doubt trying to solve all their problems before dinner.

Her eyes were on the window, at his silhouette, when she said his name.

“Harry,” it was a whisper on the wind and nothing else, but still he stopped and she could see his shadow move, looking down at her like some sort of mysterious wizard in his tower. “I’m here.”

She watched him disappear in a puff of magic and before she could blink he was standing in front of her on the sidewalk, half an inch away. “Impressive aim. Have you ever fallen on someone?”

“Not since I first started,” he admitted, his arm wrapping around her waist. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

The world blinked out for a moment, the entirety of her universe was Harry and the arm he kept tight around her, and then they were in attic.

“What did you get for dinner?”

“Tacos.”

“Lovely,” but he didn’t drop his arm. “I don’t suppose you have the fixings for-“

“Margaritas?” she asked, holding up a six pack of premixed margaritas. “I don’t know how Maggie handles having her name everywhere. Any time anyone ordered a margarita at a bar I’d look up thinking someone was asking for me.”

Harry finally released her, but she could have sworn she felt the trail of his fingers across her back as he let go. The bed Harry normally slept on was folded back into the couch so Macy moved to set the stuff down on the coffee table, but her eyes were caught by a brightly colored book on a table nearby.

“A new book?” she asked, excited as she reached for it, settling on the couch so she could read the summary on the back.

“Are you going to read this one too?” Harry asked as he unpacked the bag.

Macy smiled and kicked off her shoes, curling her legs beneath her. “I never got to finish the last one.”

“It’s at my apartment, I can get it for you if you want.”

“Do you miss your apartment?” she asked as he moved around the coffee table and settled on the couch next to her. His warmth was welcomed next to her, his arm casually draped behind her on the back of the couch. She didn’t lean into him, but she did shift on the cushion so she could face him.

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “It wasn’t as if I was very far from the Charmed Ones before.”

“Just a call away.”

She saw his hand move out of the corner of her eye, and felt the slight pressure of his fingers toying with a strand her of her. Macy wouldn’t normally let just anyone touch her hair, but Harry had already buried his fingers in her curls so it seemed a little silly to pull back now. Also, she liked the contact.

“But there are some benefits to living here.”

“The biscuits?” she asked, reaching out to grab one of the bottles of margaritas.

“You are a great baker, but mostly just being around people again. You and your sisters,” he clarified as if he might be spending time with someone else in the house. “I like hearing Maggie play her music in her room and Mel yell at the news. I like seeing you in the morning at the breakfast table.”

Macy pulled at the fabric of his shirt, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger before dragging her gaze back up to his face. “I keep thinking about the word ‘forbidden,’ there’s not any wiggle room in that word, is there?”

His eyes softened. “There isn’t.”

She took a drink, “You could try not making it so hard, you know.”

Harry laughed and took the bottle from her, maintaining eye contact as he took a drink. “What exactly am I doing?”

“That for starters,” she accused, because he’d been giving her a look. “Then there’s the suits, the ties, the breakfast. And of course the accent. You have to stop doing the accent.”

He pressed his lips together and when he spoke there was none of the proper Brit in his voice, but some kind of Colorado accent. “I’ll see what I can do, Macy.”

“You can do an American accent,” Macy was gleeful and Harry looked pretty proud of himself. “I didn’t know you could do that.”

“Hang around for a hundred years and you learn a trick or too,” he told her, his voice switching back. “I’ve got a list of things for you too, you know.”

“Do you now?”

It was flirting, this thing they were doing in the isolated attic with the moon rising outside the big circular window. They absolutely should not be doing this, but the world was falling apart so why not push the envelope just a little more?

“The hair,” he told her, tugging gently on the strand he’d been playing with. “The rambling.”

“The rambling?” she repeated, amused. “Why the rambling?”

“I always want to stop you.”

“You and Maggie and Mel,” Macy snorted.

His eyes narrowed. “Trust me, your sisters are not thinking about stopping you the same way I’m thinking about stopping you. Then there’s the way you’re always put together, the way you laugh.”

Her heart grew two sizes and the butterflies in her stomach went a little wild. “Do you think it would be like this if we hadn’t met before?”

“Yes.”

Macy laughed at how quickly he answered. “Please, take your time, tell me how you really feel.”

“I can’t imagine any universe in which you don’t matter a great deal to me, Macy. The fact I know how you kiss just makes it more complicated.”

“Dinner probably wasn’t a great idea.”

“Maggie kissed her friend’s boyfriend to keep him from seeing us trying to save a possessed co-ed, who knows what a good or bad idea is anymore. That being said, we should probably eat.”

Macy nodded and waited until he reached forward for the food because it was easier to say, “You matter to me too, Harry. To all of us.”

He looked over his shoulder, reached out to put his hand on her knee. “Thanks, Mace. Now, why don’t you grab that book and we’ll see if it’s any good.”

She reached over to grab the paperback. “Just a heads up, I’m going to stop and correct any and all scientific errors I find in here.”

“Bring it on.”

“The only beings on Earth who will remember the way things were before are the four of us,” Harry explained to the Charmed ones. He moved to sit in the chair next to Macy, unable to believe things had truly come to this point.

He had always admired the sisters for their strength, their wit, but he could never truly imagine the depth of their selflessness. Mel was willing to give up the person she loved to make sure she stayed safe, to give up everything but the memories was a high price to pay.

“You all need to be absolutely sure before you do this. I know first hand this kind of spell comes at a huge cost. I remember nothing of my human life, not who I was, who I loved, or what I did to become a whitelighter.”

“Harry,” Maggie murmured quietly, and he appreciated the young woman for the amount she cared.

He didn’t look at Macy, but he thought of her as he assured Maggie. “I made my choice long ago, now you must make yours. You’ll lose any pictures, texts, keepsakes. Every trace of your relationship will disappear. The only thing the spell won’t touch is our memories.”

“Mel,” Macy began, her voice careful and quite as if any louder would cause pain. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Either I give her up, or I lose her. I have to.”

Maggie shifted closer to her sister, giving what comfort she could. Harry glanced at Macy and after picking up the book they stood up and stepped out of the room. She put her hand on his arm to stop him before they went up the stairs. “You don’t remember anything from before?”

Harry briefly thought back to the moment he’d realized he knew how to speak, how to drive, how to write, but didn’t know when or how he’d learned any of those things. “No, I woke up and I was a blank slate.”

Her brows lowered, “How does that not drive you crazy?”

Harry gave her the honest answer. “It did for the first ten years or so.”

“Could it happen again? Could you wake up tomorrow and just be a blank slate again?”

He heard the question behind the question, the worry between the lines. “I wouldn’t forget you, Macy, or your sisters.”

Her face was instantly sad. “I wonder how many people you’ve said that to in the past.”

Harry watched her walk up the steps and took a deep breath before following her up.

It was a question he had thought in some form or another over the course of the past century. Who had he left in his history? What names had he forgotten, what loves had been lost to the mist of time and magic? His heart broke at the thought of all those emotions gone, never to get them back.

And then he thought of his singular night with Macy, of kissing her in the woods with the taste of life on her lips. What would he do without those small moments when they stood just a little too close? The intimate moments between the danger, when he sat by her for no other reason than it would allow him to be close?

Would he feel the echo of the loss somewhere in his ribs, or would he get up the next day and just move on as if nothing happened? Everything would certainly be easier – cleaner – without their night together simmering between them, but he wouldn’t give those memories away for the world.

But to protect her? He might give them away for that.

“I texted Maggie to get the sand,” Macy said as she stood in her pretty party dress. “I have no idea why any spell would-“

Harry stopped her words by grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him. Before she could say more than first letter of his name he was kissing her.

In his lifetime men had gone off to war, kissed their wives and lovers before boarding trains and boats to far off battlefields where many of them never came home. They kissed just like this, as if it would carry them across oceans and years.

Her fingers dug into his hair as he pulled her closer to hold her tight against him. Desperation and want a fist squeezing his heart tight.

“Harry?” she whispered when he finally let her go, her eyes opening slowly to meet his.

“I just wanted something to remember.”

She nodded and reached up to touch a finger to his jaw, drew it down to his chin and then kissed him softly. “If you want to step back from this-“

“No,” he rested his forehead on hers. “I’m good. And if I’m not part of the spell I won’t remember.”

“And you want to remember.”

“Yeah,” he nodded and heard the steps of either Maggie or Mel on the stairs leading up to the attic. “Sorry, I should have asked before – I promise, I don’t plan on making it a habit of grabbing you and kissing you.”

Macy smiled that soft, lovely smile he so rarely saw from her. “Extenuating circumstances. You’re forgiven.”

Harry gently pushed her back a step as the door was kicked open. “This is sand is fucking heavy.”

“You should have called me,” he scolded and stepped forward to take one of the bags. “I would have brought it up here.”

“I thought you might be busy,” Maggie explained, a glint in her eyes as she deadpanned, “With the spell.”

He nearly dropped the bag of sand and glanced at Mel who was, quite naturally, completely unaware of what was going on around her. “The pattern for the sand is in the book if you’d like to get started.”

“Sure.”

Harry turned his attention to Mel who was valiantly trying to hold back tears. “Are you alright?”

“I will be, once this is over. The in-between is killing me.”

Going with instinct, Harry pulled her in for a hug and held on for a few seconds before they started with the rest of the spell. It was a complicated thing, and he had Mel do the first handful of incantations so that when it was time for the big start, for the piece which would undo so much love, Mel could be with Niko.

When the sand had disappeared Maggie headed down the stairs, Macy a half step behind her. She stopped at the door and turned to look at him. “I’ll find you later.”

“Don’t worry about me, Macy. I’ll be fine. Take of Mel. She’s going to need her sisters tonight.”

Harry spent a restless night trying to sleep, but Macy was only part of the reason. He imagined what his life was like in 1930 when he was ten, in 1950 when he was thirty. Had he settled down by that point? Were his parents still alive?

How had he died?

When he finally fell asleep he was plagued by bizarre dreams of the Vera-Vaughn sisters in 1940s with victory curls, using cell phones and magic. The next morning he woke up and made breakfast, watched as the women came down one by one and talked about Niko – safe, happy, but no idea someone loved her.

“I get it now,” Mel said as she put down her phone. “Why Charity told us we couldn’t have relationships with people who weren’t magical. I tried to break up with Niko, tried to keep my space, and she still found herself in the sights of some psychotic shapeshifter.”

“Love shouldn’t be something we have to sacrifice,” Macy said as if it was a kind of proclamation and it caught Harry’s attention.

“You’re right,” Mel nodded. “And I don’t regret what I had with Niko. Even though I don’t know how I’m going to get through this, at least I have all these great memories.”

Harry looked to Macy to see she was already looking at him.

“You’re absolutely right, Mel." He touched a note he'd written for himself last night after the women had left the attic, one he intended on keeping with him at all times. "The memories are worth the rest.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode 6; and I'm fully aware the tags say 'lots of sexy times' and it's been three chapters without anyone getting naked. This will change next chapter... Speaking of which, who wants to bribe me to make sure it doesn't take me a month to update????

Macy pulled out the burnt pie and officially believed she was cursed.

“Oh dear, it looks awful.”

She barely registered Harry’s commentary because the panic was beginning to stretch along every single one of her nerves until she thought she might snap. “Galvin didn’t want to invite me anyway, Summer thinks I’m a jealous clinger, and now I’m the weirdo bringing the burnt pit.”

Macy was already feeling weird enough about practically stalking the man who had once asked her out on a date and now she finally had an excuse to back out. “Maybe I shouldn’t go. It sounds like you need help identifying this ghost," she added, looking to her sister.

But before either Mel or Maggie could reply Harry interrupted in full whitelighter mode. Most of the time she appreciated his help, there was no way he was paid enough for everything he did, but she didn't need his help just now. “Macy, you can’t ignore this mark. It’s glowing brighter, danger could be imminent.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help Maggie with the ghost.”

Macy glared at her sister but no one was looking at her. Which was fine, if no one looked too closely no one would realize how desperately close she was to a panic attack. Except Maggie finally looked over and there was the briefest look of concern on her face.

“Yeah,” Maggie agreed, the hint of a smile on her lips even thought her eyes were still serious. “And Harry can help you, Macy.”

“Help me?” she repeated, her voice squeaking.

“He can go with you to the party. I couldn’t see the mark, but maybe Harry can.” Macy could already feel the tunnel closing in on her. Harry was great, she loved Harry – well, not _loved_ but she trusted him, however they had already tiptoed too close to the line as it was. The last thing they should be doing is going out together. “And if you show up with an older, British dude on your arm Summer won’t think you’re the jealous type.”

There was absolutely no way out of this because Maggie was infuriatingly right. “I guess that’s true.”

“I do have a delightful recipe for Welsh rarebit.”

“Rabbit?”

“Rarebit,” he corrected, barely concealing his disappointment. “It’s a special cheese sauce on toast. Big hit at gatherings.”

Macy nodded, but had a hart time getting a full breath. “Yeah. Okay. I guess you can come with.”

“Splendid.” Harry turned to Mel and Maggie. “And you two can use the book to find out what kind of ghost you’re dealing with.”

“I’m going to go get ready,” Macy took off her apron and looked sadly at her pie. She never burned pie, she was a great baker, which showed just how murky and muddled her thoughts were. “Thanks again, Harry.”

“I should be ready to go soon,” he assured her. “It doesn’t take long.”

Macy nodded and headed towards the stairs, Maggie getting up and followed her. "I'll help you pick out a dress.”

Stopping at the base of the stairs Macy looked over to make sure Mel and Harry weren’t paying attention to them, but they were already arguing about Mel skipping the interview. “I don't need help picking out a dress, Maggie.”

"Debateable," Maggie shrugged, grabbing Macy's arm and pulling her up to the second floor.

"Ow! My arm is attached to the rest of my body."

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked as they went into Macy's room.

“What are you talking about?”

Maggie's eye roll deserved an Emmy, it was so dramatic. “Macy, come on, it's me. I know something's up. Do you need a paper bag to breathe into or something?”

The suggestion was so absurd it was almost enough to make her laugh. "No, Maggie."

Her younger sister didn't look impressed as she went to the closet to sort through the hangers. “What was that downstairs?”

"What was?"

"Maggie, I'm serious."

"Color me shocked," Maggie scoffed. "Didn’t you think it was a good idea?”

Macy wanted to say no, but she wasn’t great at lying. “It was a good idea. I’m just a little curious as to your intentions.”

“My intentions?”

“Maggie, please look at me.” Her sister slowly turned around. “Why did you suggest Harry take me to the party?”

"Because you were about to have a panic attack and I thought it would help to know you didn't have to go to the party alone," Maggie finally answered. "I thought it would help, not make it worse. Also, because you like him.”

“Magg-“

“I didn’t use my powers,” she assured Macy, dress in hand. “Or at least, not intentionally. You’re not particularly expressive face wise, but sometimes it comes off you in waves and nearly knocks me over. And you look at him when you don’t think anyone else will notice.”

Macy tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The panic might be easing, but the anxiety was like a weight on her shoulders. “Great.”

“He looks at you too.”

Macy suddenly remembered what Mel had said a few weeks ago, _“If she thinks you’re into Galvin nothing will stop her from making it happen.”_

“Maggie," the panic returned because she could not have her sister playing matchmaker when so much was at stake. "Whatever you’re plotting you need to stop.”

“I’m not plotting anything,” she argued. “But you should wear this dress.”

Macy took the hanger, staring at the fabric draped across her knees. “It can’t happen.”

“Oh, come on. I know things might get sticky, but-“

“No, Maggie, you don’t understand." The panic and anxiety faded as pure pragmatism took it's place; if it felt a little like numbness, there was nothing to do about it. "It can’t happen because it’s forbidden by the Elders. Witches and whitelighters can’t fraternize.”

“That’s bullshit.” The statement was so blunt Macy laughed. “I’m serious! We can’t have relationships with non-magical people and we can’t have relationships with whitelighters, who does that leave? Demons and other witches?”

The argument was one Macy had gone over more than once in her pretend arguments with the elders. “It’s the way it is Maggie so it doesn’t matter if Harry and I look at each other any particular way.”

Maggie nodded then stopped, her brows furrowing. “Wait, how do you know all this?”

Macy’s face went blank, or she hoped it did. “Huh?”

Her younger sister’s eyes went saucer wide as she walked towards Macy, giddiness practically in every step. “Have you and Harry talked about this? Are you two a thing?”

“No, we’re not a thing. I just told you we can’t be a thing. But,” Macy allowed, “It will be nice to have him there tonight.”

“You’re not telling me something.”

“You’re right,” Macy got up and put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “And there’s a reason for that. But please, this isn’t a project or a cute matchmaking thing.”

Maggie’s lips twisted is grimace. “So I shouldn’t suggest you and Harry pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend while you’re there?”

Macy stomach dropped at the idea, at the impossible thing she couldn't have. How much of her life was close, but not quite? She'd found her mother just months after she'd died, found Harry hours before he was taken away. For someone with the power to move objects with her mind, it was amazing how many things slipped through her fingers. “Thanks for picking out the dress.”

Maggie kissed her on the cheek. “Have fun and don’t over think it.”

“No chance of that happening.”

Half an hour later Macy headed down the stairs, Mel and Maggie already in the attic doing their paranormal investigation. Harry was in the kitchen, packing up his fancy cheese toast. “You ready?”

“Yes,” he turned and his eyes quickly took her in. “You look lovely, Macy.”

“Thank you, Harry.” She was already tired from the emotional roller coaster of the past hour, but it would be nice to have Harry going with her. But Maggie’s teasing suggestion Macy and Harry play boyfriend and girlfriend had been like a bucket of cold water over her entire body.

It might make things easier with Summer, but it would not in any way make things easier for Macy. She already knew what it was like to be the focus of his attention, she knew what it was like to be in his bed and have his hands on her. The last thing she needed was to know was what it was like for Harry to be hers.

To distract herself she focused on his clothes, “This might be the ugliest tie I’ve ever seen.”

Harry laughed, and didn’t seem the least bit offended. “Well, there’s no changing it now. We best head out, we wouldn’t want to be late.”

“We’re not going to poof there?”

“No,” he assured her as they went to the front door where she grabbed her purse. “I’ve been around for a while, and I’ve learned the one time you don’t have a car is the one time someone will need to see it."

“Why would someone need to see my car?” she asked as they stepped out into the warm night. “Are they going to check my tire pressure?”

“More like if someone is heading out at the same time as us,” Harry answered. “And asks us to take them home since it’s on our way. But alas, we don’t have a car because I – what did you call it? – poofed us there.”

It was a good point, and an even better reminder to watch how she used her own magic. Much to her surprise magic had become natural to her, but she had to make sure whatever she did with it could be explained to those around her.

Harry put the rarebit in the backseat and she waited until he slid into the passenger seat before starting her car. “Do you get paid to be a whitelighter?”

He looked surprised by her question but immediately answer. “We get a stipend of sorts, there’s a corporation which is run by the elders and it pays for our rent, utilities, etc. The money we make from our side jobs, as it were, we can use for whatever we want.”

“Witches should get paid.”

“Agreed, and you’re not the first person to bring up that point.”

“I was mostly joking, but you’re serious?”

“Any witches who participate in maintaining the safety of the populace should be compensated,” he told her and it seemed he was reciting something from memory. “Or that’s how your mother put it.”

Macy was impressed. “Go Mom.”

“How have things been with Gavin?” he asked as she pulled onto the street.

“Awkward,” she answered honestly. “After he asked me out he still flirted here and there, but things got a little less tense when he met Summer. Then I thought she was a succubus and I kept trying to get between them, so now I think he’s under the impression I’m one of those ‘want they can’t have’ kind of girls.”

“I’m sure everything will be better after tonight.”

It was a nice thought, but Macy wasn’t entirely sure one night would fix everything. And now she had the thought in her head, thanks to Maggie, of what it would be like to go with him as boyfriend and girlfriend.

She’d probably be just as nervous because Macy only did nervous, but she’d at least be able to hold his hand. Macy didn’t know what the Elders could see, how they knew what they knew, and she wouldn’t risk losing Harry for a little bit of steadiness.

Once they arrived at the location Macy parked and took a deep breath, trying for a smile she turned to her passenger. “Ready?”

“It’ll be okay,” he promised her, patting her hand once before getting out of the car with his cheese sauce. “And if it’s not, we’ll just go.”

“What happened to making sure Galvin isn’t in danger?”

“We’ll do what we can, but there’s also no point in drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. Your safety is important too, Macy.”

The simple, matter-of-fact statement stunned her a little. “Thank you.”

Together, they walked into the building. The room reserved for Galvin’s party was busy and loud, and Macy felt intensely out of place, especially when Galvin caught her eye from across the room and waved. "This is going to end so badly."

"It'll be fine," Harry assured her, a light touch on her back before it was gone again.

“You made it,” Galvin greeted as he came over to them, his smile just a little bit forced.

“Thanks for having me,” Macy smiled back, and watched as Galvin’s gaze turned to Harry who immediately put on his most congenial smile and held out a hand.

She wished friendly came as easily to her as it seemed to come to him. “Harry Greenwood,” he introduced. “Professor of women’s studies. I come bearing rarebit.”

Galvin looked as confused as she and her sisters had. “Rabbit?”

It was almost adorable how aggrieved he looked. “No. Rarebit. A welsh rarebit to be exact.”

From the crowd Galvin’s girlfriend appeared and Macy instantly felt dowdy in her dress. Maybe she should have dressed in something a little more form fitting. She'd never felt sexy, didn't know how to pull it off, and was briefly jealous of effortlessly Summer seemed to pull it off. “Did someone say rarebit? I lived on this stuff when I was studying at Oxford.”

"Well, prepare your taste buds for a trip down memory lane."

“Macy, this one’s a keeper," she commented before turning her attention back to Harry. "Hi, I’m Summer.”

“I’m Harry-“

“He’s not,” Macy cut in, realizing even as she spoke that she needed to stop talking, and yet unable to.

“But we’re not,” Harry said at nearly the same time.

“We’re just friends,” Macy added lamely, fully aware she sounded like an idiot.

The look on Summer’s face could not have been more confused as Harry added, “For clarity.”

“Anyway,” Summer put a hand on Galvin’s bicep. “I need your help for a second. We’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Macy nodded, and once Summer and Galvin had walked away she murmured to Harry, “I guess that wasn’t too awkward, was it?”

He was quiet for a moment, considering. “Hard to tell. I’m British, awkward is kind of our thing.”

With a smile, Macy looked back over at Galvin where he was reattaching a banner to the wall and she instantly saw the mark glowing on his skin. “There, do you see it!”

Harry looked over but shook his head after only a few seconds. “I don’t see anything.”

Macy let out a sound of aggravation and barely resisted the urge to stamp her foot. “Really? You don’t see it?”

They both looked back at over Galvin again but were caught by Summer who was watching them both with a look of undisguised suspicion. Immediately they both looked away, but the damage had been done.

“Now _that_ was awkward.”

Harry knew things were odd between himself and Macy, but there was something particularly off about her tonight. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but when she wandered over to the pictures of Galvin he gave her the space he thought she needed and went to go check to see how his rarebit had done with the party goers.

He was pleased to see the plate was empty, picking it up to take to Macy he paused when he saw her talking to Summer.

“Macy, I tried to be cool. Now you need to back off.”

Harry didn’t have a chance to step in because Summer immediately walked away, so he made his way to Macy, acting as if he hadn’t heard the exchange. “A triumph,” he informed her as she picked up her purse, her entire face downcast. “Are you all right?”

“Let’s go. He’s not in any danger, and I think I have a lead.”

“But they’re about to start karaoke,” he joked, with the hopes of making her smile, but she just shook her head and walked towards the exit. “Another time then.”

He hurried after her, catching up to her in the parking lot. “Macy, what’s wrong?”

“I’m working through some stuff,” she answered, though it wasn’t really an honest one. “But I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to figure out this mark, so I can be sure Galvin is safe and then I want to move on.”

Harry put a hand on her elbow to stop her forward movement. “Move on from what?”

There was heartbreak in her eyes, and maybe that was why she took a step back to dislodge her arm from his touch. “Let’s get back to the house, I want to check the book for the symbol now that I know where it comes from.”

Harry nodded, holding back a million and a half questions as they got into the car.

Macy explained to him what she’d learned from Galvin about his family’s history, and how his grandmother practiced Yoruba, and she’d been wearing a necklace in a photograph which had a similar appearance to Galvin’s mark.

“So I think there’s something there,” she was saying as they parked in front of the house. “The book has information on other cultures, right?”

“It does,” he confirmed, getting out of the car. Macy was only a few steps in front of him, but it was if she was standing on the other side of chasm, so far out of his reach as to be impossible. “And I’d be happy to help you with any research you might require.”

“Thank you,” she unlocked the door and going with instinct, Harry reached out for Macy and from one moment to the next they were upstairs in the attic. He didn’t look at Macy as he took off his jacket and laid it on one of the chairs.

“Your best bet is to look at the back of the book.”

When he turned around he saw Macy opening the book, her brow furrowed in a way which made him want to run his fingers over it. “I know I’m being weird.”

Harry looked up at the no-nonsense confession, “I beg your pardon?”

This time she met his gaze. “You’re being very kind, but I know I haven’t been acting normal for most of the night.”

“You’re allowed to be weird,” he assured her. “None of this is easy.”

She tapped her fingers on the book, “You’re not going to ask why I’m being weird?”

“I figured if you wanted me to know, you’d tell me.”

“Maggie said something," she admitted.

Harry nodded, “Well, that certainly tracks.”

She almost smiled. “She said something before we left about pretending to be dating at the party and it threw me. I started to think about what it would be like to have that, and then I had to remind myself I can’t have that. And it’s hard to have you around, and at the same time-“

“I don’t want to leave.” She nodded and he wished he had the right to comfort her, but he stayed where he was. Because she was right, it was hard, and he didn’t need to make it any harder. “In fact, the Elders decided days ago that you three no longer needed added protection now the book has been returned, but I – I must confess I’ve been rather reluctant to leave. As exotic and thrilling as my life may seem, it can be isolating. And being here has been a nice change.”

He had more to say, but he heard the call of Mel and Maggie in his head, “Your sisters are calling. I’ll be back.”

Quickly, he helped the younger sisters and then orbed back to the attic where Macy was reading over the book. “I found the symbol,” she told him, and Harry knew the conversation they’d started before was over. At least for now. “It’s a cowrie shell, and according to the Book, in Yoruba tradition it’s placed on infants to give them lifelong protection from magical beings.”

“Good news, the mark is not of demonic origin.”

Her nose scrunched in a way he found absurdly adorable. “It still doesn’t explain why I’m the only one who can see it.”

Harry rolled up one sleeve and then another as he pondered the question. “Well, is it possible it activated when he asked you out?”

“I suppose anything is possible. Maybe there’s an expert I can talk to,” she thought out loud, heading to the tablet set up by the window and typed quickly. “Bingo, a priestess. Haitian Yoruba practitioner not far from here. Maybe she can tell me why I’m the only one who can see this mark.”

“If you’re certain,” he started, fully intending on offering to go with her. “If you don’t mind doing that while I go and help your sisters again.”

“Of course,” she assured, trying for a smile which spectacularly failed. “I’m used to going at it alone.”

Macy’s words stayed with Harry as he helped Maggie and Macy with their ghost and then the three of them had gone out for drinks at The Haunt which gave him plenty of time to pack his things.

He could hear them in their rooms after they got back, and then giggling downstairs. It was a welcome, happy sound, and one he’d miss in the coming days. However, it was time to go back to his apartment because while Macy wanted space, he knew he needed it as well.

With a little bit of breathing room, perhaps he could figure out exactly what he wanted, and how much he was willing to risk in order to get it. No matter what he decided, he never again wanted to see Macy look sadly certain at being capable of being alone.

“Harry,” Mel called right before he slipped from the house. It would have certainly been easier if he’d orbed out, but his car was here and he needed to at least get it home before it was towed. “What’s with the suitcase?”

He turned to them, unsure whether or not he trusted himself to meet Macy's gaze. “The Elders have concluded that, with the Book returned, you and your sisters no longer require additional protection. Back to the condo for me.”

“Oh, Harry. I’m going to miss you.”

“Me too, actually.”

“Me three,” Macy added, pulling his attention to her and her sad, but understanding smile. It tugged at his heart stings, but he ignored them for now.

“I better be off then.”

“Wait, not yet.” Maggie ran across the room and grabbed him by the arm, barely giving him a chance to put his suitcase down. “You have to be inducted.”

Harry looked around the living room and quickly deduced what was going on as Maggie added. “You can be an honorary sister.”

“Really?”

“By the power of the poof,” Mel assured her, and then tapped him with a loofa. “Poof!”

He laughed as they had him sip from the flask and then he was heading out again as Maggie and Mel went back upstairs, Macy lingering at the bottom of the steps.

“I don’t know if I like this,” Macy told him her arms wrapped around the post. “I know it’s the right thing, but I don’t like it.”

“Damned if we do,” he murmured. “And damned if we don’t. Better to take the temptation away than take the risk.”

She let out a long, slow breath before nodding. “Okay. Be safe, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” he agreed, stepping out of the house before either he or Macy could talk him out of it.

Driving across town gave him more than enough time to think through his choices, and no matter what direction his thoughts traveled, he always came back to the same conclusion: he'd crossed this line once before when he was much younger, and what he'd felt for Charity was only a drop in the bucket compared to what he felt for Macy. If he'd been willing to risk everything for Charity, there was absolutely no reason not to take the same risk for Macy.

Consequences be damned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to share on [tumblr](https://ofsinnersandsaints.tumblr.com/post/634677688584568832/one-night-and-every-morning-after)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in episode seven - or how lighting candles to defeat a shadow demon turns into sexy times for Harry and Macy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHAT'S THIS? TWO UPDATES IN A SINGLE MONTH? THIS TIME WITH SMUT?
> 
> Sorry if there's any weird typos or what-have-you, I was eager to post this and too tired to reread it 
> 
> Also, Harry plays a song at one point in the fic, it's 'Teach Me Tonight' by Nicole Henry and one of my favorite songs ever
> 
> [Amazon](https://music.amazon.com/albums/B00WGC4I6M?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&trackAsin=B00WGC4OPC)  
> [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/4e32otlkcSeAPs6gwvmsc9?si=215zg45LTnyZAMXm61jFVA)  
> [YouTube ](https://youtu.be/HpGiW56iaGQ)

Sex fantasy orbs were a moral quandary.

But then, as Maggie might say, Harry could find a moral quandary in an empty box.

Either way, Harry hadn’t been able to get the idea out of his head since Mel had accused Maggie of using his orb for salacious purposes.

He hadn’t actually gone through with it, but should someone slip him a truth potion, he might confess to having considered it once or twice. Perhaps a dozen times, but no more than that, but what else was a man to do when the woman he wanted more than anything was a part of his daily life?

He’d already decided to go through with his attraction, the fear of what might happen no longer enough to keep his desires – his needs – in check. The only reason he’d waited as long as he had was because he wanted it to the be the right moment, and more importantly, it needed to be the right argument.

Macy was quite possibly one of the most selfless people he’d ever met, and she would have no problem giving up whatever they might become for the greater good. However, Harry no longer believed them being apart was for the greater good.

Just because he cared about her, quite irreparably, didn’t mean he wouldn’t continue to protect Maggie and Mel with everything in him.

And if the Elders thought they could take him awake from the Charmed Ones, they were certainly welcome to try; Harry was no longer a man to give in without a fight.

Now, however was not the time.

There were terrifying bees outside the house, Macy had kept a necklace a secret from her sisters and himself and a dark and nefarious was demon was coming to take the scythe from them.

“I didn’t say anything because I was ashamed of what they key might have meant.”

“Macy, you can always talk to us about this stuff.”

Harry wanted to reiterate Macy could always talk to him about anything as well, but now wasn’t the time for that either. “Ladies, as much as I enjoy our emotional heart-to-hearts, now may not be the best time. That shadow demon will be cutting our power any minute. We need to come up with a plan.”

The four of them looked at each other, and while Harry wanted to get the conversation started he was also aware that part of his job was to guide the sisters so they could one day fight on their own. They had run simulation after simulation in the orb, they were ready for this.

“We know the shadow demon wants the last shard of the Scythe,” Maggie started and Harry couldn’t contain his pride as her eyes lit up bright with an idea. “Let’s use that against him. I can use the glamor spell to make something convincing enough to distract him.”

Macy nodded, looking around the room. “He wants to fight us in the dark.”

“We won’t let that happen,” Mel confirmed as Macy picked up a candle. “There’s a spell in the book which keeps a candle from blowing out. No demon is breaking out of Tarturus on our watch.”

“I’ll get started on the glamor,” Maggie announced, moving away to gather the ingredients for her spell.

“And I’ll find the incantation for the candles.”

Harry met Macy’s eyes. “Then we’ll get started on spreading the candles around the house.”

“There are candles in that chest over there,” Maggie said with a flick of her wrist.

Together they walked over to the steam trunk, and Harry flipped open the lid and saw the nearly hundreds of candles inside. “How did your sisters not realize your mother was a witch?”

Macy smiled at him, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’d like to think I would have caught on, but the idea my mother was a witch is still hard for me to wrap my mind around.”

Harry had a witty retort planned as he moved to lift his side of the chest but immediately forgot it and the sheer weight of the candles. “This might be a bit much to move by hand. Would you mind doing the honors, Macy?”

“My pleasure,” and this time the smile seemed a little more genuine as she used her magic to lift the chest and bring it down to the living room. “We’ll start here and then work our way up?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Harry agreed and went to the kitchen to lighters, handing one to Macy.

In silence they began to place the candles around the room, lighting them as they went. It wasn’t until they were finishing up in the attic, Maggic and Mel taking care of the candles in their room, that Macy finally spoke. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything about the key.”

Harry looked up, surprised by the apology. Macy was standing just behind him as he lit the candles underneath the large circle window. Her fingers twisted in a sure sign of nerves. “You know you could have told me, don’t you?”

She shrugged one shoulder and he felt immensely guilty at the space which had built between them. He’d been so certain of his plan, of their future, he’d forgotten Macy had been adrift. After being told she had a darkness in her, she’d spoken to her sisters and he’d thought that was that.

Obviously the comment had buried deeper than either he or her sisters had realized.

“Macy, I don’t care what that woman said.”

“What if she’s right?” she interrupted, fear and panic in her eyes as well as her voice. “What if there-“

He held up a hand to keep her from continuing. “You misunderstand me. The priestess may have been right, but it doesn’t matter to me.”

“You can’t say that, Harry.”

“Of course I can,” he said with the self confidence he possessed. “It doesn’t matter to me. See? Said it, no problem.”

Her laughter was soft and when she looked away he crooked his finger and used it to raise her chin to meet his gaze. “I’m serious, Macy.”

“Do you think she’s right?”

“Honestly? I have no idea, whatever she saw, I don’t see. But if it is something that’s real, we’ll deal with it if and when it becomes a problem.”

There was a bit of a smirk to her smile this time. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it? Doesn’t really seem like Macy Vaughn way.”

Harry laughed and allowed himself the pleasure of running his thumb along the smooth skin of her jaw. “It’s not normally my way either,” he admitted. “But we’ll try together.”

Macy nodded, and while he didn’t think she was completely convinced she didn’t look as tense as she had moments before. Instead her eyes traveled over the room, to the brilliant and bright candle light making the room warm with their delicate flickers.

“What is it?”

“Nothing,” but she looked around the room with stars in her eyes. “It’s just, this is the most romantic thing I’ve seen in my life and we’re doing to make sure a shadow demon doesn’t try to kill us.”

He took in the intensely dreamy visual and understood what she saw. This was kind of scenario someone would set up to welcome their lover home, the kind of moment which included wine and strawberries and long, slow lovemaking. “Does ruin the mood a bit, doesn’t it?”

“Are we ready,” Mel asked she came back into the attic with Maggie.

Macy turned to her sisters and gestured to the box of long matches, “There are a few more candles to finish lighting.”

They were all gathered around the fake piece of the Scythe when the lights went out.

“It’s here.”

They hadn’t won the fight, Macy reminded herself as she and her sisters, along with Harry, gathered at the kitchen table. But they hadn’t lost either, and that had to count for something, though the bruise on Mel looked terrible.

She wished could take the pain for herself. “If I had just been honest, and told you about the key, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Mel rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and if we had told you about the key mom was wearing in the 80s, same deal.”

“So, from now on, we tell each other everything.” Maggie looked at Mel in a way which made the hairs on the back of her neck raise. “No matter how scary it seems.”

“What?” Macy asked, knowing she was being left out of something important.

“There’s something else,” Mel reluctantly answered. “Not just the key, it was something that mom said.”

Harry sat down next to her, and she wished could borrow some of his strength for her own. But just having him there, close enough to touch, was almost enough. “Okay, what did she say?”

“She was pregnant,” Maggie explained when it became apparent Mel wasn’t going to. “And she thought there was something wrong with her baby.”

The shock coursed through her nerves and it felt like pain. She hadn’t wanted to be right, had almost convinced herself Harry had been right and what the priestess said wouldn’t make a difference, didn’t matter. “You mean me.”

“Yeah, but we don’t – we don’t know what she meant.”

“I know what it means,” and she could feel herself shutting down, put up those ice walls no one had ever been able to get through. Inside the soft Macy who had admitted to romantic daydreams was replaced with the cold, logical Macy. “It must be why she gave me up, she sensed some evil in me.”

“Don’t jump to that conclusion. We have no idea what she meant, or how that key connects to you. We do know that mom loved, she wanted you back. She got you hired at the lab, right?”

“That’s quite right,” Harry’s quiet murmur reassured her.

His voice shouldn’t have melted her, but she could feel cracks in the ice which hadn’t been there a moment ago. “None of this explains what this darkness even is. But mom sensed it, and I feel it.”

“I have been watching human behavior for decades, everyone has the capacity for darkness.” This time when he spoke she turned to look at him, and it would be so easy to believe him when he looked at her like she was the center of everything. “It’s your actions, not your nature that defines you.”

His shoulder was a warm comfort, too quickly gone and Macy resisted the urge to keep him close to her.

But he wasn’t hers to keep; they had agreed to keep the distance and as difficult as it was she was trying to keep her end of the bargain.

“If we’re going to be honest about everything, then there’s something I need to tell you both.”

“What is it?” Macy asked, concern in her voice while Maggie’s eyes lit up as she knew what confession was about to come out of her eldest sister.

“It’s about Harry and I.” Maggie squealed and Macy smiled before she remembered she wasn’t going to make the admission her sister hoped for. “We were involved.”

“Involved?” Mel asked as Maggie clapped her hands.

“Past tense, Maggie.” Macy linked her fingers together and looked at the table because it was easier to tell her secrets to a piece of furniture than her sisters. “The night before we became Charmed Ones? I told you I was going to finish packing my stuff and the Air B&B, but I actually went to pick up a guy.”

“The man you told us about on Halloween?” Mel clarified.

Macy finally pulled together enough courage to look at the two most important people in her life. “That was Harry.”

“Oh my God.”

“I’m so happy.”

Macy shook her head. “But it’s forbidden, whitelighters and witches, so it can’t happen again. I just figured, if we’re being honest about everything, you should know.”

“How was it?” Maggie asked, as if the question had bubbling for days and finally spilled out.

“Maggie,” Mel scolded, before looking at Macy. “But for real though, how was it?”

“I already told you,” she reminded them and could feel her smile go soft. “It was close to perfect.”

“And you’re just going to let him go?”

With a snort, Macy got up to go the kitchen, Mel and Maggie following half a step behind her. “What do you expect me to do, Mel? It’s forbidden.”

“What would happen if the Elders found out,” Maggie pressed as Macy decided she’d make herself tea.

“We’d loose him.” The look Maggie and Mel shared was enough to steady her shaky heart. They had lost so much, she couldn’t risk taking Harry from them too. “But don’t worry, Harry and I are adults. We can contain our baser urges.”

“We said we weren’t going to keep things from each other,” Maggie pointed out.

“Even from ourselves,” Mel added, her voice soft as she was worried about hurting Macy.

“What are you talking about?” Macy asked looking at her sisters, confused.

“It’s not just baser urges, is it Macy?”

Macy took a full step back, as if that would make the truth any less real. “I’m going to make some tea and then go to bed. It’s been a long day.”

She watched as Mel and Maggie looked at each other, had some silent conversation she couldn’t begin to translate. Those wordless looks were built on decades of being together, and Macy knew no matter how much time she had with them she’d never have those years. She’d always be behind by twenty years, desperately trying to catch up.

Forgetting the tea and all the questions roiling inside her like a storm she went up to her room and shut the door behind her.

Only she wasn’t alone.

Harry was sitting on the hope chest at the end of her bed, standing up when she came barreling into her bedroom. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” he assured her, his hands in his pockets. “I was hoping to take you somewhere.”

Her heart couldn’t take this, not after all it had been through today. “Harry, I don’t think-“

“Just give me a minute,” he stepped forward and reached out as if he had planned to touch her but stopped himself at the last moment. “If you don’t want to stay, I’ll bring you right back.”

“Where to?” she asked, not quite an acquiescence, but it was enough to bring a smile to Harry’s face and her ice melted a little more.

“Not far,” he assured her and went to her vanity where the orb sat. He picked it up and met her in the middle of the room, holding the clear glass between them. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

He took one step closer and she could swear she could almost feel his voice vibrating against her skin when he whispered. “Close your eyes.”

Macy knew how this worked; they had been doing simulations for months now, each one getting harder and harder to make ensure their powers weren’t going stagnant. She felt the magic wrap around her, pulling her into the little world Harry (and on occasion on Maggie) designed to suit their purposes.

When she opened her eyes it wasn’t a seedy alley, or a creepy dungeon, but the attic of her own home.

Only it wasn’t the way it had been just fifteen minutes earlier. Gone were the old pieces of furniture and boxes of old clothes. Instead it was as if Harry had reached into her deepest, most secretive fantasies and made them real because the entire room looked as if it had been pulled from a fairy tale.

Gauzy fabric covered the open beams of the walls and what seemed like a thousand candles lit the room. They were everywhere, on the floor, the windowsills, even hanging from the ceiling in colored glass containers so there were soft spots of red and purple amidst the orange glow.

The room smelled of her bubble bath, and in the middle stood Harry.

“It’s not technically real, so if anything catches on fire no on is in any danger.”

It was a joke, but she didn’t have the breath to laugh. As she looked at him, he stole all the air from her lungs. Black slacks and a pure white dress shirt with suspenders, which was a ridiculous word for something that looked so sexy. His sleeves were rolled up to show his forearms, looking for all the world like a man who had just returned from an elegant night out.

“I’m severely underdressed.”

He shrugged a shoulder as if it didn’t matter. “This is our world, Macy. We can be whoever we want to be.”

Understanding what he meant Macy didn’t picture anything in her closet, instead she remembered the costume she’d worn on Halloween. Instead of white, she imagined it as royal blue with silver embroidery, the deep v showing off enough cleavage to make her feel unbearably sexy.

The fabric whispered against her skin as she opened her eyes to see Harry swallow. “You’re beautiful, Macy.”

Her body shifted as if to move towards him, but her brain stopped her first. Her logical mind wanted answers before everything else. “What is this, Harry?”

“This is ours,” he explained as he moved over to the old style record player. He picked up the arm and placed the needle on the vinyl and a soft, sultry song began to fill all the empty places so not even the shadows were cold.

“I would never admit this to your sister, but Maggie gave me the idea.”

Macy closed her eyes and remembered the conversation they’d had at the breakfast table a couple of days ago. “Orb sex fantasies.”

He looked a little embarrassed, which made the whole James Bond vibe that much sexier. “This is a pocket dimension, it doesn’t follow the same rules as the real world.”

Everything in Macy’s body shifted, as if her heart had suddenly started beating after being scared silent. In between those heavy heartbeats, the words from the song filtered through. “The Elders can’t see.”

“It’s not a perfect solution,” Harry allowed as he stepped forward. “Or a permanent one, but I couldn’t bear it any longer.”

“Couldn’t bear what?” she asked even though she knew. She needed the answer, needed to hear it, before she did anything else.

“Not being yours.”

And how was a woman, any woman, much less one who never had anyone be hers, supposed to resist such an answer?

Macy didn’t even try, instead she walked across the attic floor in her bare feet and once she was close enough, wrapped her arms around Harry’s neck and kissed him.

Harry held on as he kissed because there was no version of any world where he didn’t kiss Macy back.

The softness of her dress was crumpled up in his hands as he grabbed fistfuls at her back, his head tilting to kiss her deeper. “I was going to ask you to dance.”

“We can dance later,” she promised, her fingers threading through the shorts strands of hair at the back of his neck. “Kiss me now.”

He did as ordered, his hands sliding down her back to the curve her of ass, the kiss a slow and luxurious thing. This was no one night stand, no quick and frantic coupling in his empty apartment. Whatever this kiss was, it was a beginning first and foremost.

After a minute Macy pulled back and he attempted to chase her mouth but she looked down and it was only then he realized she was unbuttoning his shirt. With every inch of skin she revealed she branded it with a kiss until her name was written on every beat of his heart.

“I was going to seduce you,” he managed to get out as she pushed the suspenders off his shoulders.

She smiled and it was enough to bring him to his knees, metaphorically if not literally. He didn’t think he’d ever be able to stand again. “Next time.”

_Next time._

Holding that promise to his heart, he let her do her worst. She tugged the shirt out of his pants and he pulled it off and dropped it on the floor. Her fingers traced the lines of his muscles, delicate and warm against his skin. “Macy.”

She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his chest. “How can this possibly be okay, Harry?”

He framed her face with his hands, looked into eyes which had become so important to him. “How this possibly be anything but right, Macy?”

“It’s a beautiful sentiment,” she murmured. “But that doesn’t work in real life.”

Harry took her hand and pressed it to his heart. “We fight for the things we want, and I may not know what tomorrow or next week will bring, but I know I want to fight for this feeling.”

She blinked slowly before meeting his gaze. “I told my sisters about us.”

Harry’s brain froze at the admission, imagined what Maggie and Mel must have said. Or worse, what they were going to say. “Oh.”

She laughed. “I told them we’d been together before, but it was forbidden. Maggie wasn’t surprised about it, but Mel was.”

“And?”

“I didn’t give them a chance to say anymore,” she admitted, but her hands continued to move across his shoulder and down his arm as if she couldn’t stop herself from touching. He understood the feeling. “But we promised no more secrets, so I figured they deserved to know what had happened.”

“Whatever you feel comfortable telling them, I’ll support it.” Harry brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want this,” she admitted, and the yearning in her voice matched what he had felt for the past few weeks. “I want to eat dinner with you and read books. I want to know what it’s like to wake up next to you.”

And those were all things they couldn’t do without risk of exposure, but they could steal pieces for themselves until they could figure out how to have all of it. “Let’s start with going to bed, and take it from there.”

Her brow furrowed and it made him smile. “There’s no bed.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, turning her around and the empty space where he’d been intending to dance with her was now filled with a four poster bed complete with a gossamer canopy.

“How?” she asked, and he could hear laughter in the single word.

“Magic,” he whispered against her neck, his lips pressing against the sensitive skin. He dragged his knuckle down her spine to the fabric of her dress; there was a string here which had gathered the dress and kept it in place.

A single tug and he could have her undressed, but he wouldn’t take what she wasn’t ready to give. “Macy?”

“You gave me this,” she whispered. “The candlelight.”

“You deserve it, Macy.” He kissed the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder. “We both do.”

“I’ll still have doubts,” she told him, but she leaned against him and he used the opportunity to lay his hands on her hips, up her waist and down again. She all but melted against him.

“And I’ll be here when you do,” he promised. “We can stay here, or we can go back Macy. Your choice.”

Macy reached back behind her, her fingers tangling with his as she reached for the string. Together they untied it and she turned around to face as she let the fabric slide to the floor.

She wore nothing beneath it, there was no need to in this world of magic and fairy tales.

They stood like that for a long moment. “Are you going to touch me, or what?”

“I’m trying to decide where to start,” he admitted. Time still passed the way it normally did in the real world, so in the morning they’d have to be back where belonged. Still, that left hours and hours for exploration and play.

“How about we start here,” Macy suggested, her arms wrapping around his middle so they were pressed skin to skin. He could feel her nipples against his skin, the softness of her arms surrounding him and he’d never been so lost.

When he kissed her the world stilled for just a moment and then hunger came with a vengeance. It had been weeks since he’d touched her, months since he’d had her in his bed, and it was a difficult thing to temper his need for her.

When he’d come up with this idea he’d though it would be a night of soft touches and quiet murmurs, but she was naked against him, her skin pressed against his, and he no longer believed himself capable of such restraint. “I’m not sure I have the patience to do this right, Macy.”

“I promise you, I do not care.”

Taking her at her word he kissed her again, this time letting his need take control. He’d been careful with her last time, because it had been her first time, but unless she told him to stop Harry planned to go with his instinct.

Tilting his head he ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, thrusting into her mouth when she allowed him entrance.

She tasted like Macy.

Harry put his hands on her hips and pushed her towards the bed until her back hit one of the bed posts. As he moved closer he situated his leg between hers so his thigh was perfectly placed between hers. He heard her gasp at the contact, could feel how quickly her arousal dampened the fabric of his pants.

“Take what you want,” he murmured against her shoulder, pressing light kisses and quick bites on the curve of skin. “Take what you need.”

Macy leaned against the column, her back arching as she pressed herself against his thigh and if the entire world burned to the ground, he would not be able to look away. He shifted closer so his leg pressed more insistently against her and the sharp gasp was all the reward he needed.

She moved against, riding his leg to her own pleasure and while he wanted to touch her there, where she was all wet heat, he equally wanted to see her find pleasure on her own. As a compromise he reached out to palm her breast before shifting so his fingers could tease those dark brown nipples. Macy’s hands came up to hold onto him, the blunt edges of her nails digging into his shoulders as she chased orgasm.

His thumb flicked against the hard bud, first one and then the other, before he lowered his mouth to lavish those enticing points with his tongue.

“Harry.”

The sound of his name on her lips, a little desperate and all desire, was nearly enough to do him in but he kept his own orgasm in check as Macy neared hers. He could feel her sliding against him, felt how she was pressing harder and moving quicker. Understanding she might need a little help getting the rest of the way there, Harry kissed her again.

His tongue and teeth demanded everything from her as his hands found their way to her breasts, using just a little bit of pain to mix in with the pleasure by pinching her nipples suddenly.

It was all she needed, her entire body going stiff for a second before nearly melting completely.

Macy was having trouble understanding what had just happened.

She’d just come by riding Harry’s leg.

He’d barely touched her and within minutes she had all but shattered in his arms.

There was a small part of her which thought she needed to embarrassed by the fact, but Macy chose to ignore that voice. Harry had told her to take what she wanted and she had, and if the deep growls and encouragements he’d been murmuring were any indication he hadn’t exactly been unaffected.

“I didn’t even know that was something I could fantasize about,” she managed to get out.

His smile was more wicked than she’d ever thought possible of the whitelighter, his hands refusing to remain still as he fingers played with her breast, followed the length of her thigh. She wasn’t even sure he was aware he was doing it, but it kept her arousal from softening.

She’d had an orgasm, yes, and it had better than any she’d given herself the past few weeks, but she wanted him. She wanted the length of him, hard and moving inside her.

“What do you fantasize about,” he asked, his lips at her jaw, his neck. She remembered at the last moment he’d given her a hickey there the last time, but she chose not to remind him of that. If he marked her, he marked her.

It would be their secret.

She was surprised she wasn’t blushing, and perhaps it was because they were in this safe pocket dimension where no one could hear them. They could be as loud as they wanted, as honest as they wanted, and there would be no one here to judge them.

“I think about going to your office at night,” she admitted leaning forward to take a kiss he freely gave. “The whole femme fatale, nothing but a trench coat thing.”

His grip on her hips tightened briefly, like he was trying to get control of himself and she wished she could convince him she could take him at his worst. And maybe the way to prove it was to give the same to him.

“I’d come to your office and lock the door behind me,” she told him as she undid the button on his pants. “And I waver on whether or not to take the jacket off immediately, or after I get done taking you in my mouth.”

“Fuck, Macy.”

“I’ve thought about that a lot,” she admitted and slid the zipper down so she could reach inside to find him hard from wanting her. “Would I enjoy it? Would I want to swallow? Whenever I read romance novels the heroine is always wearing red lipstick. Would you want me to wear red lipstick when I get down on my knees.”

His hand gripped her wrist but he didn’t force her hand off his erection so she used her thumb to brush against the head. “I had no idea you were a dirty talker.”

Macy’s laugh was a little breathless, even to her own ears. “Neither did I.”

“As much as I would love to see that exact scenario, I’m afraid I haven’t got the patience.” He took a step back, his cock hanging out of his pants, but it was the large spot on his leg which drew her attention because it had been her own arousal which had created it. “On the bed, love.”

She climbed onto the bed and watched as Harry got rid of the rest of his clothes. “We don’t need a condom, do we?”

He paused before shaking his head. “This is kind of a shared fantasy.”

Macy made a face, “I don’t know how I feel about that.”

Harry laughed as he laid next to her on the bed, “Your brain is working too hard. Let it be what it is.”

“And what is it?” she pressed because if this wasn’t real, did it count? And the end of all this would they have had sex once, or twice?

“Perfect,” he answered and even the most logical part of her brain couldn’t argue against that.

“Harry?” she asked, her voice as casual as she could manage while they were naked and surrounded by a million candles.

“Yes, Macy?”

“Will you please fuck me?”

There was a brief look of astonishment on his face before hunger took over and he raised up above her. “Are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you?”

Macy turned her head and caught sight of a candle, throwing it across the room with her magic with a twitch of her eyebrow. “If you hurt me, I can handle it.”

“That shouldn’t be quite as sexy as it is,” he remarked dryly. “Spread your legs for me, love.”

She shifted on the bed until she could feel Harry hard and heavy at her entrance. Macy lifted her hips in an attempt to draw him in but she knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything without his cooperation. “Harry,” and this time her voice came out as a warning.

He shifted his weight to his elbow and used his free hand to guide his cock into her. “Ready?”

Macy nodded, but as he thrust into her, his entire length sliding into her, she wasn’t entirely sure she’d answered honestly.

“Are you still with me?”

“Yes,” Macy managed to get out, her fingers clutching at the sheets as she tried to reorient herself.

She wasn’t in pain, quite the opposite in fact. The sudden fullness and stretch had been almost unbearably arousing as he slid into her to the hilt. She was one touch away from an orgasm and she wasn’t prepared for it.

“It feels so good,” she told him, already trying to shift against him, but his weight kept her pelvis pressed against the mattress so she could barely move. “Harry, please.”

“You’re going to be the death of me, Macy Vaughn.” Before she could respond he shifted above her, his hands moving her legs into a different position she was spread out even wider beneath him. “Hold onto me.”

She put her hands on his shoulder as he almost completely pulled out and then pushed back into her.

It was hard and rough, and exactly what she wanted.

They held back for too long, and neither of them could predict what would happen next. Tonight, in this moment, they’d give everything they had.

“You feel so good,” Harry told her, his voice tight as he moved into her again and again. His left hand held onto the top the of headboard and his right hand gripped so tightly onto her hip she was certain she’d have a bruise back in the real world.

As he pounded into her, she could feel her inner muscles clenching on him as if trying to keep him from leaving again. Her body rejected the emptiness every time he pulled out, but relished in the feel of being filled again.

She could feel herself close to another orgasm, knew when it came it was going to shatter her.

Above her Harry’s eyes were focused on her body, her breasts, her lips, as he drove them both to places Macy had never dreamed of.

Reaching down between them, Macy found her clit with her fingers and began rubbing in tight, hard circles and suddenly Harry stopped moving.

Looking up Macy realized he was watching her, his eyes hot.

“I’m close,” she began, but Harry shook his head, cutting off her words.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me,” he assured her. “But one of these days I’m going to sit in a chair and watch you get yourself off. That’s incredibly sexy.”

Macy did blush this time, but she imagined watching Harry grip himself in his fist and she understood the appeal.

“Are you close?”

She managed a nod, but instead of picking up where they’d left off, Harry leaned down to kiss her. It was a warm kiss, filled with all the soft emotions between them. “You’re going to have a hard time getting rid of me, Macy.”

The warmth in her heart was bright and big she wondered how it didn’t light up the entire room. “Right back at you.”

Then he was moving again, and the world was only this room, this bed, and this man.

And when she shattered she held onto Harry, dragging him to heaven with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to share on [tumblr](https://ofsinnersandsaints.tumblr.com/post/635801134653734912/one-night-and-every-morning-after)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter would have been a lot more fun if I'd actually finished it in time for Christmas.
> 
> As it is, this chapter exists almost entirely because of Majestrix/MGreenwood is the best.
> 
> Takes place during episode 9, featuring less Galvin and more Charity...

Macy woke up at eleven in the morning, and for the first time in what felt like weeks, she wasn’t exhausted. Tired, yes. Her eyes felt scratchy and the temptation to roll over and try to get another hour of sleep was tempting, but it was Christmas Eve and this was the first time she’d ever get to celebrate the holiday her sisters and she wasn’t about to miss a minute.

For as long as she could remember it had just been her and her dad, a quiet and simple holiday which she sometimes spent with her grandparents. But as she got ready for the day, she could hear the Christmas music floating up to the second floor as the murmur of voices drifted up along with the classics and it warmed her heart to hear.

Macy had heard all about their family traditions – decorating the tree today, presents at midnight. They’d asked if she had anything she wanted to add to the festivities, and the only thing she could think of was the massive breakfast her father cooked Christmas morning. Harry had promised to go all out.

With that thought, Macy felt butterflies in her stomach which she tried ignored, because this wasn’t just her first Christmas with Maggie and Mel, it was her first Christmas with Harry as well.

Harry whom she cared about, Harry whom she couldn’t be with in any public way, Harry who sometimes looked at her in a way which made her forget her own name.

Moving to her vanity she picked up her tablet and sat back down her bed, searching through her cloud until she found a very old video. Before she could push play there was a knock on her door, and she knew without asking it was Harry on the other side.

“Come in.”

Her secret boyfriend was wearing the ugliest Christmas sweater she’d ever seen, and it made her smile, but somehow in the short time they’d known each other Harry had learned to read her face. His brows lowered as he came into the room, shutting the door behind him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered, because everything was okay. She had her sisters, she was a powerful witch, had a great secret boyfriend, and yet… “Holidays are just hard since my dad died.”

He moved across the room, a glass in his hand, and sat beside her on the bed. “It’s been two years?”

She nodded and looked down at the tablet in her hands, her father’s face frozen on the screen. “I was going to watch an old video from Christmas when I was kid.”

His smile grew, brightening his eyes as he scooted even closer so he could look over her shoulder. “Little Macy? Now, this I have to see.”

With a soft laugh, Macy pushed play and watched as her father’s face filled the entire screen. He’d set up the digital camera in the corner so it would catch both them and his parents, and true enough her ten-year-old self bounced into frame. Her hair was in a puff, tied together with plaid ribbon.

“Presents!” she announced to the room, and her father laughed.

“Grab one from underneath the tree,” but even as he said that he grabbed one wrapped in silver paper. “This one is from Santa.”

“You’re adorable,” Harry murmured, his eyes completely focused on the image of her meticulously unwrapping the paper of her present. “I’d have guessed you weren’t the type to tear the wrapping paper.”

Macy smiled, a little embarrassed, until she realized she remembered this particular present. Santa had bought her a small, silver jewelry box with a purple gemstone on top – she still had it somewhere, packed in a box. It had been stupid to carry around such a small keepsake, but she hadn’t been able to get rid of it.

“You seem happy.” Macy paused the video where she was showing her dad what she’d gotten. “You must miss him.”

“All of them,” she corrected with a sad sigh. “Gran and Gramps died a few years before Dad. It was just me the past few years.”

He looked at a picture of her and her sisters she kept on her dresser. “Well, you certainly don’t have to worry about that now.”

Macy nodded and took his cup, taking a sip of what she’d thought was eggnog and was caught off guard when it wasn’t anything like she expected. “What is this?”

“According to your sisters, it’s coquito. Family tradition.” She took another sip now that she knew what to expect. “This may not be my first glass.”

With a laugh she handed the cup back to him. “It’s not even noon.”

“It’s Christmas,” he shrugged. Harry stood up and held out a hand. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” she took his hand and together they walked downstairs. It was still a little odd to be displaying any kind of affection outside their little orb. She’d never snuck around in high school, but she imagined it would feel a lot like this, worried at any moment someone with authority would sneak in and catch her doing something she shouldn’t.

When they got to the living room Maggie was moving ornaments, muttering something about how it was the wrong color on the wrong branch, but her face lit up with a smile when she saw them. “Merry Christmas! I was wondering when you were going to join us.”

“It was a late night,” she admitted. “And Merry Christmas to you.”

“When did you get home,” Mel asked as she came into the room with a handful of presents, setting them down carefully beneath the tree.

“After one,” Macy answered. Work at the lab hadn’t eased up for the holiday, so she’d put in extra hours yesterday to make sure she could have today and tomorrow off. “I didn’t get to sleep until three.”

“I hope you’re getting overtime at least,” Maggie commented.

“I’m not, but I’m on salary so if I have to take days off my pay won’t change, which comes in handy with the demons and everything.” Mel looked like she was about to say something, but she was interrupted by the doorbell. Everyone looked at each other as if one of them had done it. “Are we expecting someone?”

“Maybe it’s Santa,” Maggie grinned as she moved to answer the door.

“Santa’s not real,” Mel reminded her.

Her eye roll was a near verbal thing. “Sure, we’re witches, Harry’s dead, and we met an Egyptian fertility goddess, but Santa is where we draw the line.”

Mel grimaced. “I hate it when she has a point.”

Macy didn’t want to think Santa was real, because that opened a whole other door she wasn’t prepared to deal with on so little sleep. In her mind, her dad was Santa, and he was the one who picked out her pretty presents each year. Probably with the help of her Gran.

When Maggie came back into the living room, her smile was strained. “Look who came by.”

Behind her, dressed in all white, was Charity. Almost without thinking, Macy dropped Harry’s hand and took a full step away from him.

It was probably one of the least subtle moved she’d ever done, and that was saying something.

“What an unexpected surprise,” Mel greeted, her friendliness as fake as her smile.

“I know I’m intruding, but I’m afraid this couldn’t wait.” Charity’s gaze locked on Harry first, her smile too soft and intimate to be considered professional. Something like jealous swirled around Macy’s heart, but she brushed it aside as Charity turned to look at Mel. “I was hoping to talk to you for a moment, it’s about the Sarcana.”

“We’ll give you two a moment,” Macy turned and immediately left the room, heading for the kitchen. She wished she was better at cooking, then she could at least stay in the kitchen if she was helping get dinner ready.

Maybe she’d bake a pie.

She’d already made two, but maybe she’d try her hand at strawberry and rhubard. The fact she didn’t have either of those things in the kitchen would mean a trip to the grocery store, a reasonable enough excuse to leave the house and the heavy presence of Charity in her house.

There was that almost jealousy again, which seemed to come up in some form or another whenever Charity was around.

“Macy?” Harry had followed her, which he shouldn’t have done because they didn’t want Charity – who was, by the way, an _Elder_ – to get the wrong idea. “Is everything okay?”

“Sure, everything’s great. Do you think we should ask your ex-girlfriend if she wants to stay for Christmas dinner?”

Macy he turned around, facing Harry over the island.

“My-“ his face had gone white and if Macy wasn’t more than a little irritated at the disruption of her perfect Christmas, she would have found it funny. “You know?”

She hoped the look she gave him was unimpressed. “That you and Charity used to be a thing? Yes, we all know.”

“Ah.”

“Maggie was the first one to figure it out,” she explained, crossing her arms in a way she knew was defensive, but still couldn’t help. Her thoughts and feelings regarding Charity were complicated to say the least. Thanks to the Elder, Macy had her powers and her sisters. She couldn’t say for certain she’d been this close to them if it hadn’t been for the constant danger and unique circumstances.

It was also because of Charity that Macy had Harry in her life now. Charity had been the one, after all, to assign Harry to the Charmed Ones. Without that decision he would have forever been a one night stand Macy dreamed about but could never have again.

On the other hand, Charity was all the things Macy wasn’t. Successful, worldly, confident. And to top it all off, she was also Harry’s ex. An ex who was a _witch_. Which made Macy wonder, what did all that make her? A second choice? Another bad decision?

Maybe Harry was a rule breaker, and she was handy.

And she was spiraling.

“Were you planning on telling me?” Macy finally asked.

“Eventually,” he admitted, glancing in the direction of the living room. “Though I hadn’t quite figured out how to go about it.”

Macy walked closer to him, anger bubbling to the surface. Ah, that’s what the thing which had felt like jealousy was. When she had realized she hadn’t been Harry’s first witch it had hit her like a punch to the gut, but she figured Harry would tell her, Harry would explain. But they had known Charity for months now, and he hadn’t said a word.

“You told me whitelighter and witch relationships were forbidden, and now I know you’ve been in one before? What do you expect me to do with that?”

“I don’t expect anything,” he said in the calming voice which right now made her want to step on his foot. “But if you’d like, I can explain.”

Macy thought about Charity in the next room, about how ten minutes ago she’d been full of hope and wonder at having Christmas with her sisters. She shook her head, “Now’s not the time. We’ll talk about it later.”

“Macy –“ but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by the doorbell going off once again. “Who else is here?”

“I got it,” Maggie announced loudly. Macy moved around the counter to peak into the hallway, wondering if it was going to be another elder dropping by to say hi. Instead, it was Parker at the door, his hands full with bags.

When she turned around, she saw Harry just inches away from her. She put her hand on his chest and pushed him back a step. “We should probably keep our distance while your ex is here.”

“Macy-“

She shook her head, “Later, Harry.”

Walking into the hallway she saw Maggie oohing and aahing over a necklace Parker had apparently given her. It was beautiful, and old enough to look like an antique. “Oh my god, hold on, I want to get something from my room.”

“You don’t want to put it on?” Parker asked.

“Hold on,” she hurried up the steps and Macy stood awkwardly with Parker in the entry until Maggie came back down with a small box in her hand. “Voila!”

Macy looked down and saw a jewelry box in her hands, silver with beautiful filigree and a little gemstone on the clasp. It was startling to see, because just minutes ago she’d been watching herself open almost an exact replica from Santa.

“Where did you get that?” Macy asked, her voice a little harsher than she’d intended.

Maggie smiled, her face soft and warm with memories. “From Mom, it was tradition.”

“Tradition?” Macy asked carefully.

“Mom got one when she was ten,” Mel explained, appearing from the living room. “And in it was her first grown up piece of jewelry; we each got one when we were ten. I got a necklace.”

“I got a bracelet,” Maggie added. “The clasp broke ages ago and I never got it fixed. Are you okay, Macy?”

“Yeah,” Macy blinked, her heart clenching tightly in her chest so she could barely breathe. “I just need a minute.”

She walked away and stepped outside, the cold biting and real on her skin.

“Macy?”

Turning, she saw her sisters standing the freezing temperature. “You guys should go inside, it’s freezing.”

Both of them ignored her. Instead, Mel walked close enough to put her hand on Macy’s arm. “Is everything okay? You looked a little pale inside.”

“It was the jewelry box, wasn’t it?”

“It was.”

“I’m sorry, I know you never got presents from Mom. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s just the opposite, actually.” Maggie and Mel lowered their brows in the exact same way. Macy pulled her phone out of her pocket, the video she’d been watching still open in the background. “Look.”

Her younger sisters huddled together and watched the video, both of them gasping at the same time as little Macy opened her present from Santa.

“It’s just like ours.”

“Different gemstone,” Mel pointed. “Mine is sapphire. Mom said it would help with focus and inner vision.”

“Mine is rose quartz which is supposed to help with compassion and divinity.” Maggie tilted her head and smile, “I think Mom knew what our powers were going to be. What was yours?”

“Purple tourmaline,” Macy answered because the first thing she’d done after getting the present was look it up. As a kid she hadn’t put much stock in what stones _meant_ but she’d come across the explanation in her search, and it had always stuck with her. “Balance and self-confidence.”

“I was right.” Maggie grinned and laughed softly when Macy and Mel looked at her. “Santa is real. Mom was your Santa.”

“I always thought Gram was the one who helped Dad pick out my present.” Macy put a hand over her heart. “But it was Mom.”

They were all silent for a moment as they took in the knowledge. Her mom had been there the whole time, in the background. But why? “Do you still have yours?”

“Yeah, in storage. I didn’t exactly unpack at my Air B&B.”

“You should bring your stuff home,” Mel all but ordered. Macy wasn’t offended by the tone, knew that was how her sister expressed affection. “You’ve been here for months, it’s time to unpack, Macy.”

Macy looked up and inside the house, knew Harry was in there somewhere. “Yeah, I think you might be right.”

“While we’ve got a minute, what did Charity want?”

Mel looked like she was thinking about lying but sighed heavily. “She wants me to join the Sarcana. I texted Jada and she wants to come over today to officially join.”

Both Macy and Maggie stepped forward at the same time. “Are you sure?”

Macy couldn’t imagine what joining the Sarcana might entail. “Mel, that’s an incredibly dangerous endeavor.”

“If they were a part of Mom’s death, I want to know, and this is the only way to find out. I’ll be safe,” she promised. “And I’ll be back soon.”

“You’re going now?”

“I guess the Sarcana don’t care much about Christmas Eve,” Mel shrugged. “I’ll let you guys know when I’m on my way back.”

“Have Harry take you,” Macy insisted. “He can pick you up when you’re done.”

Mel thought about it. “I’ll have him drop me off nearby. I don’t know how they’d feel about a whitelighter dropping in on their secret clubhouse. Harry!”

Instead of poofing next to them, he stepped out onto the patio as if he’d been within ear shot. “You bellowed?”

Mel ignored his sarcasm. “Can you take me to just outside the Sarcana?”

“Take you where?” he asked, eyes wide.

“I’m joining the Sarcana,” Mel explained. Before he could argue she put up her hand. “Don’t patronize me, Harry. I know what I’m doing.”

“You’re going to give me gray hairs, Melanie.”

“Nothing I can do about that Hare,” she smirked and in an instant they were gone.

“Do you think it’s weird to leave your boyfriend and an Elder in the house by themselves?” Macy asked.

“Oh, shit!” Maggie turned on her heel and hurried back inside. Because there wasn’t much else to do, Macy followed at a slower pace, and just barely caught Maggie apologizing to their guests. “I’m so sorry about that, sister thing. Parker, thank you so much for the necklace, it’s beautiful.”

“Charity,” Macy managed a smile and hoped it was convincing. “Can I get you something to drink? Some Coquito?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

Macy turned around and headed back towards the kitchen where the drink was in the fridge. “Where did Harry go?”

“He took Mel to the Sarcana so she wouldn’t be gone long. And if she needs backup, he’ll be close to pull her out.”

Charity smiled, “Harry was made to be a white knight.”

“Mhm.” Macy poured the drink and handed it to Charity. “Be careful, it’s strong.”

Charity nodded and took a small drink. “It was nice of you to include Harry in your festivities.”

Macy wondered at Charity’s tone, but she couldn’t decipher it. She was always so self-assured it made it difficult to detect anything else in her voice. “Harry’s family, of course we’d include him.”

“Mhm.”

She wasn’t sure what to say to that, and was grateful when Maggie brought Parker into the kitchen. “Parker has never tried coquito.”

“Until an hour ago, neither had I,” Macy reminded her with a smile.

“Here,” Charity slid the pitcher towards Parker, their hands bumping slightly when he moved to pick it up. Parker hissed like something caused him pain and in that quick instant there was a flash of blue light coming from the broach on Charity’s shirt. It looked oddly like the mark Macy had seen on Galvin.

When her gaze slid over to Parker he looked shocked, almost as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Are you okay?” Maggie asked, putting her hand on his shoulder.

And seeming to remember he was in pain, Parker doubled over and groaned again. “Yeah, just side effects. I’ll be fine.”

Maggie wrapped her arm around his middle. “Come on, you should sit down.”

Macy watched Maggie lead Parker away, concerned and confused by what she’d just seen.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Macy pushed her own cup of coquito away. “I think I need to stop with the alcohol.”

After a few minutes Macy went outside again, debating on whether or not to call Mama Roz to see if she could share any knowledge about Parker or the light radiating from Charity when the two touched. But if she called Mama Roz, then she’d have to explain everything, and she was pretty sure that was a no-no.

So what was she going to do?

“Hi Mama Roz, my sister’s boyfriend flinched when he touched someone and there was a magicky glow. What’s up with that?”

Macy groaned and turned back towards the house. She’d ask Harry, maybe he might-

And then everything went black.

When Macy came back to the world, her head was killing her, her mouth was dry, and her shoulders hurt.

She groaned, or tried to until she realized there was a gag in her mouth. With a wince she opened her eyes to realize she was in the back shed, and her arms were tied up behind her. Shifting on the chair she tested the ropes, but there was no give, and she was worried about toppling herself over and breaking something if she moved too much.

If she could get rid of the gag, she could call for Harry.

It took longer than she’d like, and she panicked about halfway through, She tried distracting herself by trying to remember all the presents she’d gotten from Santa over the years, long after she’d stopped believing. When she’d asked her father about it, he’d insisted he had no control over Santa, the presents came whether anyone want them to or not. He’d smiled a little sadly at that, and Macy understood it now.

Her mother had insisted.

Panic subsiding, she was finally she able to push the cloth out of her mouth. “Harry! I need you!”

It took longer than normal for him to show up, and when he did his Christmas sweater was askew, and he looked in pain. “You just…” he waved his hand as if she had any idea what he might be talking about.

“Some help, please?”

“Right, of course.” He moved across the room and worked the knots free and she breathed a sigh of relief when the circulation returned to her hands.

She stood up the moment she could, getting feeling back in her legs. “What’s going on out there? What happened to you?”

“Someone has been pretending to be you.”

The statement was said so matter-of-factly it took a moment for Macy to understand what she’d just said. “What?”

“And then they threw me out the window.”

Macy stepped closer and put her hands on him, checking for injuries. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he assured her, though she didn’t completely believe him. Who fell out of a three-story window and was fine? He was a whitelighter, not invincible. “Who was it that grabbed you?”

She tried to remember but had only caught a flash of a reflection in the window. “I didn’t recognize him.”

Harry tugged her towards him and wrapped his arms around her, she briefly struggled against the hold. “The elders.”

“Bugger them.” He rested his cheek against her temple. “You know, I always thought we’d eventually have a fight, but I did think you’d be included when that happened. And I didn’t think there would be an actual fight involved.”

Macy chuckled against his chest.

Christmas was nearly over.

Macy sat down on the couch, and since Harry had said ‘bugger them’ she leaned against his side as Mel and Maggie settled across from them. She slipped her hand into his as she stared at her crying sister, trying to decide on the best thing to say. “Well, um, it’s past midnight. I know it’s probably hard to get into the Christmas Spirit, but…”

“We could open presents,” Mel finished for her.

At Maggie’s tearful nod, Harry spoke up. “My three small offerings are under the tree.”

Macy sat up straight and looked at Harry, surprised at the gesture, and yet not. “Harry, that’s so sweet.”

“I’ll go get us some more coquito.”

As Mel got up, Macy leaned forward. “I’m still kind of new at this whole sister thing, is there anything I can do, Maggie?”

“No, but thanks.” She tilted her head and gestured to them, “So this is official?”

“It is for now,” Macy answered, mostly because she was too tired to get up.

“There are a lot of things we have to work through.”

“And conversations to have,” Macy added. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Charity.”

Maggie’s smile was a little watery, but it looked slightly happier than it had been a moment ago. “Oh, the ex talk. That’s always fun.”

“Why don’t you pick out some presents, Maggie?” Harry suggested.

“That wasn’t even subtle, Harry.”

He smiled at her. “It wasn’t supposed to be, Margarita.”

“Guys, we drank all the coquito.”

“Ho ho ho.” At the voice, one which was newly familiar, Macy and her family stood and turned towards the sound and she was shocked to see Hunter standing in their living room. “Merry Christmas. You’ve been very naughty girls this year. Santa’s going to make you pay.”

He stepped forward, menacing and clearly intent on doing harm. Macy glanced around for something she could use as a weapon, anything which she could throw at him to give her and her sisters a fighting chance. But before she could summon anything a shadow appeared amongst them and stepped forward.

Parker formed from the darkness, a gold staff in his hand. “They’re not the ones who are going to pay. “Temelechus, deschide poarta.”

When he slammed the staff down onto the ground it felt as if the whole house shook beneath their feet. Macy reached out to grab onto Harry, but he’d slid a few feet away from her and was bracing himself on one of the armchairs.

Parker repeated the words, slammed the staff down one more time. “Temelechus, deschide poarta.”

The floorboards moved like a wave, shivering and falling back into place as Hunter vowed retribution. Parker picked up the rod again, but started coughing halfway through the first word, his brother’s voice mocking him.

Macy was frozen in surprise, but Mel took charge, stepping forward to take the staff and repeating the words Parker had spoken.

“Temelechus, deschide poarta.”

As she moved to help her sister, Macy caught Harry out of the corner of her eye. The shaking and moving of the floor had sent him falling to the ground, but he was safely out of Hunter’s reach so they picked up the staff again and again, repeating the words with more confidence each time as they slammed it down.

They had no idea what they were doing, but they knew Hunter didn’t want it - Which meant it was something the Charmed Ones did.

“Temelechus, deschide poarta.”

“The portal to Tartarus!” Harry yelled as the floor gave way, and a dangerously bright orange flow emanated from beneath. Even from this distance, Macy wanted to run from it, but she held on with her sisters, instinctively knowing they had to repeat the phrase until Hunter was safely trapped below.

Hunter felt the ground, slid across the floor as if something from beneath had grabbed onto him and was pulling him below.

Too late, Macy realized Harry was in danger too.

Hunter had grabbed his leg and was dragging him towards the entrance, and even though she knew it was stupid and reckless, she couldn’t risk Harry.

Macy let go of the staff and ran towards the gaping chasm in the middle of their house. She ran towards him, towards danger, and she had fingertips on him when his grip finally slipped.

“Harry!”

But the floor was back, the chasm gone, along with Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Temelechus, deschide poarta = Temelechus is the son of Odysseus and Persephone, and deschide poarta means open the gate
> 
> In case you were curious, because I was


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry is being tortured in Tartarus, Macy is determined to save him
> 
> Takes place during episode 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is set up slightly different than previous ones, which only had one POV switch, but this one switches between Harry and Macy a couple of times
> 
> Enjoy the angst!

Harry woke up to the sound of Macy talking next to him, and before he opened his eyes he knew what she was doing. Their bundle of joy wasn’t supposed to arrive for another two months, but Macy had already taken to motherhood as if she’d been born to it. When he looked over it was to see his wife reading from a book she had propped up on her stomach.

“What are we reading to Muriel this morning? The risks of bio-engineering squirrels and rabbits into a single animal?”

Macy ignored his teasing, “We’re not naming our daughter Muriel.”

“What’s wrong with Muriel?” he asked, barely suppressing a smile. They had known they were having a girl almost from the moment they’d conceived, the beauty of having a prophetic witch in the family, and almost from the start they’d been debating about names. At this point, it was more fun than anything else.

“She’s not an eighty-year-old grandma,” she pointed out. Macy rubbed her belly and spoke to their daughter. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I won’t let Daddy give you a terrible name.”

Harry’s heart warmed at being called ‘dad’ and could hardly wait for little Vaughn-Greenwood to arrive. He sat up and put his hand on Macy’s stomach, eager to feel the baby kick, but the moment his hand touched Macy everything changed.

Suddenly they were no longer in bed, they were in the living room and Macy wasn’t smiling with a book in her hand. She was bleeding and crying, her hand covering her stomach. “Harry, you have to save the baby. Save our daughter.”

He knew, even though he didn’t understand, that Macy was dying which put their baby in danger but if he couldn’t save Macy he’d risk them both. His hand hesitated, not knowing what to do, not able to choose between them –

“The more you resist,” a deep voice growled. “The harder you’ll fall.”

Harry knew he had to choose, had to save the baby or risk them both, but how was he supposed to give up on Macy? This woman he’d loved and fought for.

Then he blinked, and he was no longer with Macy, and the sudden loss nearly brought him to his knees. He’d had Macy, he’d had their daughter, an entire life together suddenly ripped from his hands and the ache and grief was so sharp and deep he thought it might kill him. “What is this?”

The world was hazed in red, the walls surrounding him were rough and jagged rock.

_Tartarus._

He remembered now.

“This is how we torture you here,” the dragon explained, its cruel eye peering at him through the window high above. “We give you what you desire, and then we take it away. Again and again and again. And just when you think you’re ready to give up, to give into the dream, we bring back the memories you wish to forget.”

Harry didn’t have time to question the ominousness of that particular statement, as a black scorpion crawled up his arm and dug its stinger into his skin. The pain was unbearable, it scorched along his nerves and burned the blood in his veins. He’d give almost anything to make it stop, for just a moment.

And when he managed to open his eyes he was in a prison laundry room in 1955.

Macy didn’t pace.

It had been days since Harry had been taken from them, but she didn’t pace.

Her heart was cracked, near to breaking, but she didn’t pace.

Instead, she held herself perfectly still at the kitchen table as Charity all but scolded Mel for getting rid of their mother’s piece of the Scythe.

She’d experienced loss before, with her grandparents, her dad, but she’d never had someone taken from her grasp. Macy couldn’t stop seeing the moment when Harry had slipped, when he’d fallen into the dark red chasm which had opened in their living room floor. And then both he and the chasm has disappeared.

She only vaguely remembered banging on the floor, calling Harry’s name, but she remembered her sisters wrapping her in a hug and the bruises on her wrist the next morning. Looking at those bruises is when she’d gone numb, realizing how little use she’d been, how the angry and fear had overwhelmed her.

If she wanted Harry back, she had to be at her best.

Charity shifted on her feet and this time she showed an emotional reaction, tears coating her eyes and voice. The Charmed Ones knew about the Elder’s past relationship with Harry, but she didn’t think Charity was aware of that which explained she was trying to keep from being overly emotional.

It was difficult to see Charity grieve over Harry’s disappearance, there was a possessive part of Macy which felt as if she was the only one allowed to feel pain over his absence. Macy shut that part down as well as everything.

“The Elders have no other idea of how to help Harry, and…” Charity left the sentence hanging.

“And what?” Mel snapped, and Macy was grateful for her sister’s anger because she was too frozen to feel anything but numb.

“And, they are not particularly interested in pursuing the matter further. Not for a whitelighter.”

When Charity turned around to leave kitchen Mel and Macy followed her.

“So they’re just going to leave Harry in Hell-catraz?” Macy asked, unable to imagine anyone leaving Harry behind.

“It was Harry’s choice to become a whitelighter,” Charity answered, straightening her shoulders. “He was well aware of the risks.”

“Remind me again how the Elders are the good guys?” Mel demanded. “You’re okay with giving up and letting Harry rot?”

“I’m not giving up,” Charity informed them. “I just have no idea what else to do. But I will keep thinking, obviously.”

Charity gave them both instructions, insisting the stay on mission despite the fact Harry was being tortured in hell. Almost as soon as the anger flared, Macy tamped it down again. Anger was almost as useless as fear, but as soon as Charity left Mel reach out to touch her shoulder.

“Macy? Are you okay?”

Macy blinked at her sister. “As well as can be expected, why?”

“I’m just concerned, you’ve basically shut down since Harry was taken.”

The glass box she kept around her heart fractured at the question, the sincerity of Mel’s worry. Mentally, she shored up those weak areas while she still could. “I can’t handle having lost him, Mel. If I don’t contain my emotions, all of them, then I’m not going to be able to function. And I need to be to be able to function in order to find him.”

Mel didn’t look convinced and Macy could hardly blame her. “I’ll fall apart later, Mel. I promise.”

“Okay, then I’m going to see the Sarcana, but not because I think they killed Mom; they broke somebody out of Tartarus. They might be our only chance to save Harry.”

Hope, Macy thought briefly, and let herself feel it for just a moment. “If you need anything?”

“I’ll let you know,” Mel promised before heading out.

In the quiet of the house – Maggie was technically here, but she was still holed up in her room – Macy walked back to the table and wished she could do something to help Harry.

Macy had read about Tartarus in school, but they knew so little about the actual place. He was being tortured, surely, and there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t save him, couldn’t heal him.

He was alone.

She got up and grabbed the ugly Christmas sweater he’d left on the couch, one she and her sisters hadn’t been able to move, and held it in her lap. It wasn’t a spell, at least not one she knew of, but she focused on the sweater, on the smell and essence of him, and spoke to him with the hope he could hear her.

“I won’t stop looking, I promise.” She brought the sweater up so she could breathe it in. “I’m coming, Harry.”

Harry wasn’t sure how long he’d been in this little cave of a prison. More than likely time didn’t move the same here as it did in the real world. He hadn’t felt hunger, but he was constantly dying of thirst.

It could have been weeks or months, possibly even years though he doubted it.

Were the Charmed Ones still looking for him?

“Ready to give up?” the dragon asked. “Ready for more?”

“I’m not so easy to break,” Harry challenged, though he acknowledged the brave face was less than convincing considering he was sitting on the ground in a cold sweat.

“So many think they are stronger than the memories, stronger than the pain. In the end, they are all wrong.”

The skittering started up his leg, but Harry no longer had the strength for panic. He braced himself for the pain, for the shock of memory.

Grief rushed through him, loss and hopelessness.

And failure, he felt that too.

The little boy in the bed looked too small, too pale. Harry leaned forward and brushed a cold rag across his son’s face. Each of the doctors had said Carter wasn’t in any pain, he was simply sleeping, unaware of what happened around him.

Harry didn’t know if that was true, and told him stories anyway, just in case.

As a kid he’d always loved the tales of King Arthur’s Court and so Harry told his son about the aged wizard, the boy who pulled the sword from the stone, the beautiful woman who dared a king to be great.

He’d forgotten bits and pieces in the middle, made up those as he went along.

At one point he felt a presence behind him, quiet and broken, but he didn’t look away from his son. “King Arthur looked at his knights, these men who stood beside him through thick and thin and thanked them for their service. But he feared he’d have to ask for their blood and sweat one more time, for a great enemy was coming for their gates and it would take all of them to defeat it.”

The presence stepped forward, a small hand with a tiny diamond on one finger. It squeezed is shoulder once, so Harry kept going.

“But the King was afraid, and he admitted as much to his knights so they’d know if they were afraid, they weren’t alone. Fear didn’t stop them though, they armed themselves and led their troops into danger knowing some of them wouldn’t make it back. They were all heroes though, in the end.”

Harry came back to himself and he reached up to find tears on his cheeks, the sadness a gaping hole inside of him.

He’d had a son.

His name had been Carter.

“Are you out of your Charmed minds?” Charity demanded as she came into their kitchen through her portal. Macy resisted the urge to remind the Elder they had a door for a reason and just appearing in their house was rude.

Harry was the only one outside of her sisters with that privilege.

“I take it you got my message,” Mel said, cocky and confident.

“You want to give a warden of Tartarus the Harbinger of Hell?”

“If it’s to get Harry back?” Macy asked. “Yes.”

“Do you remember how hard it was to capture the Harbinger in the first place? And now you want to give it to demons? Don’t even get me started about you talking to the Sarcana about Tartarus.”

“It’s not like the Elders were helping,” Mel snapped.

Charity took a deep breath and used the equivalent of her teacher voice on them. “The Elders will never allow this. We do not negotiate with demons.”

“The Harbinger is a demon, that belongs in jail. We’d be taking it back to where it belongs.”

“And no one can open the can since you enchanted it,” Macy pointed out. She didn’t understand why Charity was being so reticent about this. This was for Harry, it wasn’t as if they trading the Harbinger for magical bean.

“We have to try, for Harry. If we don’t get him out soon, we might lose him. He could be changed forever. I don’t care what the Elders have to say.”

“Do you realize what you’re asking me to do?”

Mell nodded. “Yes, we’ve been through this with Angela. Harry is worth saving, and I know you think so too.”

With an expression Macy couldn’t quite decipher Charity turned around and walked back through her portal.

There were a couple dozen thoughts going through Macy’s head as she watched the circle disappear behind Charity, but the only thing she could think to say was, “Wow.”

“I didn’t think she’d be this heartless.”

Macy hadn’t thought so either, and was already thinking about their next course of action when the crackle sound echoed again, but instead of Charity walking through a simple looking paint can slid across the hardwood floor.

Before she realized what she was doing, Macy went to grab the paint can and held it tight against her chest. She didn’t think Charity would change her mind and come back for it, but Macy didn’t want to take the chance. “Shall we?”

“Let’s go break our whitelighter out of hell.”

“Harry!”

For a second, Harry thought he in another one of the dragon’s hallucinations but when he opened his eyes he realized he was still in the cave. He blinked when he heard his name being called again; this time he recognized the voice. “Maggie? Maggie, is that you?”

He heard her crying, and the torment in her voice. “Please, Harry, I can’t take it anymore!”

Harry stood up and pushed off the craggy wall, moving in the direction he’d heard her voice. “You have to hold on.”

“I can’t,” she sobbed. “I’m so tired of all of it.”

He finally saw her through a break in the rock, tears down her face, her small hands curled up in fists. “I know, but you mustn’t give up hope.”

She looked around and finally saw him, her eyes full of heartbreak. “I did a spell to numb my pain and now it’s all coming back.”

Harry closed his eyes, understanding what was happening. She had gone numb, and now all those emotions were coming back tenfold in the worst of places. “Oh, no. Maggie.”

“Everything hurts too much.”

“No, that’s how they break you Maggie.” He wished he could get to her, but orbing didn’t work in places like this. All he had were his words, and he could only hope that would be enough. “Listen to me, you have to fight it. Let love be your strength.”

“I loved Parked. All it did was hurt me.”

“Then gain strength from me, and know you’ll never be alone.”

Maggie screamed and Harry could just barely make out the scorpion climb up the young woman’s arms, the fear of her scream ripped through him. Harry took a few steps back and looked up at the hole he’d seen the dragon in.

He was a whitelighter; it was his job to protect her.

“Let me take her pain!” He shouter, knowing full well what he was asking for and knowing he’d do it for any of the Charmed Ones. “Give me the memory instead! You overgrown lizard, torture me, I dare you.”

“Be careful what you ask for.”

The house was full, there were at least a couple dozen people roaming around, but Harry was looking for only one person. When he saw Maggie, he grabbed her arm to get her attention. “Have you seen my wife?”

“She’s in the kitchen obsessing over the cake.”

Harry smiled because he should have guessed. Moving through the crowd of kids and adults he found Macy concentrating with a bag of frosting over a cake. “You know, she’s not even going to pay attention to the frosting.”

Macy looked up and scrunched her face. “I know, it’s stupid. I just want it to be perfect.”

Moving across the room he glanced down at the confection Macy had insisted on making herself. He counted the candles and shook his head, “I can’t believe she’s already five.”

“It went by way too fast,” Macy agreed, slapping away his hand when he tried to steal some of the frosting off the cake. “Where are the troublemakers?”

“Outside,” Harry answered. “Carter wanted to set up the piñata, and Maria insisted on helping.”

Macy’s smile was soft. “I’ll admit, when we got pregnant I was a little worried Carter wouldn’t like having a baby sister, but he’s so good with her.”

“It’s all the hero worship,” Harry laughed. “At 13 he soaks it up.”

Macy laughed and looked like she was about to say something, but an explosion nearly knocked them both off their feet. Harry instinctively reached for Macy, but the moment they were steady they both ran to the backyard where the kids were.

“Carter! Maria!” There were only a handful of people outside, and most of them were just getting back on their feet. By the big tree in the backyard Maria was crying, but Harry didn’t see Carter. Harry picked up his daughter and swung her up on his hip as he looked around frantically for his son.

“Harry,” Macy yelled, just a few steps behind him. “Is she okay?”

He looked over Maria but didn’t see any scrapes, no obvious broken bones. “I think so, just shaken.”

“Carter?” she asked. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, and even as he said those words he saw the sneakers Carter had been wearing earlier. Harry turned to Macy and handed their daughter to her, “Get her inside, I don’t want her to see anything.”

Macy held Maria close to her, reaching out to Harry with her free hand. “Be careful.”

“Get our girl safe,” Harry ordered before running towards his son.

It looked as if an earthquake had ripped through the backyard, nearly splitting it in two. Harry ran around the large tree until he saw Carter, his too long limbs splayed on the glass. “Carter,” he yelled stumbling beside the still body. “Carter, wake up.”

But there was no movement.

Harry put his hands on his son’s shoulder and shook him. “Carter! Wake up!”

He pulled his hand away to check his son’s pulse, only to find his hand covered in blood. “No, no. No!”

The dragon began laughing again and reality hit Harry like a bullet and the teenager his son had never gotten a chance to be disappeared like mist.

“Didn’t get a chance to save him this time,” the deep voice mocked. “What a failure you are as a father.”

Screaming pain shot through his arm and Harry was thrust back into Tartarus, a black scorpion burying its stinger into his muscle. The pain brought him to his knees, “Fuck!”

The chuckle vibrated through the cavern he was imprisoned in. “Don’t worry, whitelighter, this is just the beginning.”

Macy watched Maggie and Harry step out the door.

They were dirty, obviously in pain, but they were alive.

Together, she and Mel ran towards them and the glass protecting her heart became paper thin. But she couldn’t break yet, they had to get home safe, she had to make sure Maggie and Harry were _okay_ and then she could take a bath and fall apart.

“Let’s go,” Mel murmured as she took Maggie’s weight.

Macy slipped an arm around Harry. “I got you.”

“Found me,” he murmured.

She almost smiled, but it was too wobbly to be considered a real one. “Yeah, I found you.”

“Knew you would.”

Her heart swelled but she knew nothing would come easy, not even this, so when Alistair Cain sauntered into the shop with all the swagger of a villain about to succeed she wasn’t in the least bit surprised. He spewed his hatred and vitriol, giving Macy and Mel the chance to step in front of Maggie and Harry who were still weak.

And then he unzipped his face and all hell, pardon the pun, broke loose.

Macy and Mel dove behind the counter, and she immediately looked over her shoulder to see Harry and Maggie had safely hidden behind the one. She watched as Maggie and Harry had a quick conversation before Maggie announced no one was screwing with her sisters, or her whitelighter.

Macy would have high fived her if they’d had a chance.

“Give me your hands,” Maggie ordered, wrapping her fingers around Macy’s wrist. Instinctively Macy did the same, taking Mel’s wrist in her hand. Once they were all connected to each other the magic whipped through Macy like a summer storm breaking a heat wave.

She felt love. All encompassing, pure love sweeping through her and the glass box she’d been protecting herself with shattered into a million shards.

All the fear, the grief, the love she’d locked away spilled out until she was nothing but a ball of emotion.

But it didn’t overwhelm her, Macy thought it would, but she was so connected to her sisters the emotion spread out like a wave hitting an empty beach.

When she opened her eyes she saw the ball of light in the middle between them, “Maggie, how are you doing this?”

As Maggie began to stand up, Macy and Mel followed her lead. “I’m not doing this, we’re doing this!”

Together they shifted and turned, the light stretching until it was shield in front of them, protecting them from Alistair’s deadly magic.

“No! This isn’t possible!” Alistair bemoaned.

“Keep going,” Maggie ordered and they began moving around the counter keeping them separated from the demon. They stepped closer and closer, the shield pulsing in front of them until Alistair, like the coward he was, ran away.

As Mel threw Harbinger into the hell Macy went to Harry. “Are you okay?”

“Relatively speaking, yes.” He rested his head against the cabinet behind him. “Mind giving me a hand?”

“Of course,” Macy knelt down and put her hand beneath his elbow and held him to his feet. He leaned heavily on her but Macy didn’t mind.

Mel walked over to them with Maggie. “I wish we could have vanquished Alistair before he got away.”

They all wished that. “What was that, Maggie? Some new spell?”

“I don’t know.” She turned to Harry, “It came to me when I read what you were thinking. Let love be your strength. I knew if I could just reach you guys, I could just channel this thing between us.”

“You just created a spell. Do you realize that?”

Maggie smiled, shy in the face of Harry’s admiration.

Next to her, Harry’s weight shifted and he made a quiet sound of pain and Macy’s attention shifted from her sister to her boyfriend. “He’s in bad shape, let’s get him home.”

“Please,” Harry murmured.

Together, the four of them left the doors to hell behind them.

Harry woke up to find himself in a bed not his own. It wasn’t the mattress at the condo he almost never used it, nor the pullout sofa in the attic. Opening his eyes, he glanced around and realized he was in Macy’s bed and quickly moved to sit up, but almost immediately felt lightheaded.

“Whoa there,” Macy murmured from some other part of the room. “Careful.”

Her hands were cool on his arm as she steadied him. “Maggie?”

“She’s okay,” Macy assured him, the bed shifting slightly under her weight as she next to him. “Mel’s with her.”

“She was hurt,” he remembered, shifting to get off the bed. “I should go heal her.”

Macy put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. “Absolutely not, you’re not well enough to walk much less heal anyone.”

Harry narrowed his eyes at Macy. “It’s my job to protect you and your sisters, to heal you.”

Her look was somewhere between amusement and patience. “And you’re more than welcome to do that once you can focus on my face.”

“Which face?” he teased, but gave in and rested against the headboard. But as he looked at her something was slightly off. “Have you been crying, Macy?”

She reached up to swipe a finger beneath her eye. “I took a bath while you sleeping.”

He didn’t think that was the entire story, but he didn’t think it was right to push. If she wanted to tell him, she would. “Maggie’s really okay?”

Macy nodded and used her fingers to brush away the hair at his forehead. “She told us what you did for her.”

“My job,” he reminded her, his voice dry and cracked.

When her hand covered his, Harry turned his over so he could link their fingers together, craving the contact. “That was above and beyond, Harry, we both know that.”

He ran his thumb along the back of her hand when a thought suddenly came to him. “Is this real?”

Her lips curled into a confused smile. “Of course it is.”

Harry sighed and decided if this wasn’t real, he was too tired to fight it. “It wasn’t real the last few times.”

Macy’s brows narrowed, concern etching her face. “What do you mean?”

Harry shifted so she could see the wounds on his forearms. “The dragon’s idea of torture.”

Her eyes flicked up to his, wide with surprise. “Did you say dragon?”

“Apparently those are quite real as well.”

“But I don’t understand, what do these wounds have to do with me?”

“They caused hallucinations,” he explained. Perhaps if he was at a hundred percent he wouldn’t be revealing quite this much to her, but his inhibitions were down as she gently touched his bruised and battered skin. “You were in most of them.”

“They used me to torture you?”

“Sometimes you died, sometimes your sisters, once –“ he caught himself before he spilled the rest of his nightmares, but only because they were mirrors of his daydreams. “I had a son, Macy. Not just in the torture, but in real life. Before I was a whitelighter.”

Her eyes went wide, then softened as she understood. “You did?”

“A very long time ago,” he told her. “I don’t remember him, but it was real. It was so real.”

“Oh, Harry.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I deserve sympathy, Macy.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think I was very good father.”

“Shh,” she murmured. “Don’t think about that right now. You’ll have plenty of time to beat yourself up when you’re back on your feet. For now, just sleep.”

Harry nodded, but only because it hurt too much to think about. And he was so very tired. “Would you mind staying? Just still I pass out.”

Macy shifted next to him and together they lay on bed, her body curled carefully around his. “I’m not going anywhere, Harry.”


End file.
